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26-416: The elongated historic center extends from one end to the other for over 200 metres and occupies an area of about 35 hectares. Its linear structure distinguishes it from most of the neighboring centers with a concentric plan, in which the inhabited area has extended from a central square. Along the margins of the central road, connecting the ancient housing clusters, there are numerous aristocratic buildings, for

52-412: A communal constitution under the lead of consuls ( consoli ). In 1203 they were replaced by podestà . In 1228, Recanati sided with Barbarossa's nephew, Frederick II , who again was in conflict with the pope; for this reason, the town acquired the control of the nearby Adriatic shore, and the right to found a port (the modern Porto Recanati ). In 1239, however, Recanati began to support the pope, and

78-884: A favourite singer of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini , having recorded the Fascist anthem " Giovinezza " in 1937 (it is noticeably excluded from his "Edizione Integrale", released by EMI ). Toward the end of World War II , he was able to give few performances. However, he immediately returned to the stage when the war ended in 1945, and the audience acclaim was greater and more clamorous than ever. In addition to his stage performances, Gigli appeared as an actor in over twenty films from 1935 to 1953. Some notable appearances include 1936's Johannes Riemann-directed musical drama Ave Maria opposite actress Käthe von Nagy and Giuseppe Fatigati's 1943 drama I Pagliacci (English release title: Laugh Pagliacci ), opposite Italian actress Alida Valli . In

104-464: A pay cut. Giulio Gatti-Casazza , the Met's then general manager, was furious at his company's most popular male singer; he told the press that Gigli was the only singer not to accept the pay cut. There were in fact several others, Lily Pons and Rosa Ponselle among them; and it is well documented that Gatti-Casazza gave himself a large pay increase in 1931, so that after the pay cut in 1932 his salary remained

130-519: A series of interviews). Gigli was initiated to Freemasonry . He died of pneumonia in Rome in 1957. Like many artists, Gigli was a man of contradictions. On one hand, he gave more fund-raising concerts and raised more money than any other singer in history, with close to one thousand benefit concerts. He was deeply devoted to Padre Pio , his confessor, to whom he donated a large amount of money. Also, Gigli sang an unusual amount of sacred music (especially in

156-523: Is located in the town. The origin of Recanati is unclear, although the area was inhabited since prehistoric times by the Piceni . In Roman times , the river Potenza , which was navigable then, saw the rise of two cities: Potentia , which developed at the river's mouth, and Helvia Recina , located more inland. When the Goths led by Radagaisus ravaged the region around 406 AD, their inhabitants took refuge on

182-685: Is the son of Gloria Doyle, who was an opera singer at The Metropolitan Opera. Phil Hildebrandt's children (Gigli's American-born grandchildren) are comedian William (Bill) Hildebrandt (1953-2021) and Lori Jean Hildebrandt, both of Detroit, Michigan. Early in his career, Gigli was known for a beautiful, soft and honey-like lyric voice, with an incredible mezza-voice, allowing him to sing light, lyrical roles. As he grew older, his voice developed some dramatic qualities, enabling him to sing heavier roles like Ràdames in Aida and Cavaradossi in Tosca . Some critics say that he

208-469: The 1950s), atypical of a leading operatic tenor. Additionally, he was throughout his life deeply devoted to the sacred music of Don Lorenzo Perosi . On the other hand, Gigli's relationships with women were often tainted by scandal. He said in his memoirs he married six months earlier than he actually did; this was to conceal the fact that his wife Costanza was pregnant before reaching the altar. Gigli had two children with Costanza: Enzo and Rina. (The latter

234-540: The Pope had pardoned the city; however, her seat as a bishopric was restored only in 1354. In 1415 Recanati hosted former Pope Gregory XII , who died here two years later. At the time, the town was home to a popular trading fair, which was further boosted by Pope Martin V in 1422. Around the middle of the 15th century, the Jewish ghetto, previously located near the cathedral, was transferred, considering that it could interfere with

260-401: The death of the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso in 1921. Such was his popularity with audiences he was often called "Caruso Secondo", though he much preferred to be known as "Gigli Primo". In fact, the comparison was not valid as Caruso had a bigger, darker, more heroic voice than Gigli's sizable yet honey-toned lyric instrument. Gigli left the Met in 1932, ostensibly after refusing to take

286-566: The dissolution of most of the Papal States . The city has a long tradition of producing musical instruments, such as accordions by Castagnari and guitars and others by Eko Guitars . Recanati is characterized by a religious vitality, as the abundance of churches and religious complexes testify: it is a consequence of its filiation with the State Church, its close link to the shrine of Loreto and its role of bishopric. The Diocese of Recanati

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312-399: The following year Gregory IX gave it the title of City and bishopric seat that had been previously held by the nearby Osimo . In this period, the development of trade and the demographic development lead to a progressive urban expansion: all the depopulated areas became populated and the original castles merged, so that Recanati become an actual united village. In the early 14th century,

338-505: The hills, perhaps founding the modern Recanati, which would take its name from Ricina . The first document in which Recanati is mentioned dates back to a papal seal wrote in 1139: here it is cited the Santa Maria de Recanato church. In the 12th century, during the controversies between Frederick Barbarossa and the Pope , Recanati expelled the feudal counts which ruled its area, and gave itself

364-473: The last few years of his life, Gigli gave concert performances more often than he appeared on stage. Before his retirement in 1955, Gigli undertook an exhausting world tour of farewell concerts, including performances at the Metropolitan Opera. This impaired his health in the two years that remained to him, during which time he helped prepare his memoirs (based primarily on an earlier memoir, fleshed out by

390-505: The main Christian worship, along one of the alleys of Montevolpino. During several centuries of economic prosperity, Recanati became home to prominent jurists, writers, and artists such as Lorenzo Lotto and Guercino . Recanati was occupied by Napoleonic troops in 1798. In 1831 it took part to the Risorgimento riots, and was annexed to the newly formed Kingdom of Italy in 1860 after

416-400: The most part on three floors, built by merchants or landowners. It is the hometown of the tenor Beniamino Gigli and the poet Giacomo Leopardi , which is why the town is known to some as "the city of poetry". Famous medieval Ashkenazi Kabbalist Rabbi Menahem Recanati flourished here in the 13th century. Teatro Persiani named after Giuseppe Persiani an opera composer, born in 1799,

442-662: The pope. On 22 May 1240, the Castello di Recanati was raised to the dignity of a city by Gregory IX. During its early history it often lost and regained its episcopal status due to the policy adopted by the pope. On 27 July 1263 the diocese was completely suppressed by Pope Urban IV in the bull Cives Recanatensis due to its support of Manfred , who claimed the Kingdom of Sicily . Beniamino Gigli Beniamino Gigli ( / ˈ dʒ iː l i / JEE -lee , Italian: [benjaˈmiːno ˈdʒiʎʎi] ; 20 March 1890 – 30 November 1957)

468-717: The roster of Met singers during the 1920s also happened to be Gigli's chief contemporary rivals for tenor supremacy in the Italian repertory — namely, Giovanni Martinelli and Giacomo Lauri-Volpi . Some of the roles with which Gigli became particularly associated during this period included Edgardo in Donizetti 's Lucia di Lammermoor , Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini 's La Bohème and the title role in Umberto Giordano 's Andrea Chénier , both of which he would later record in full. Gigli rose to true international prominence after

494-504: The same as it had been originally. Furthermore, Gatti was careful to hide Gigli's counter offer from the press, in which the singer offered to sing five or six concerts gratis, which in dollars saved was worth more than Gatti's imposed pay cut. After leaving the Met, Gigli returned again to Italy, and sang in houses there, elsewhere in Europe, and in South America. He was criticised for being

520-511: The strife between Guelphs and Ghibellines , which plagued much of Italy, also affected Recanati. In a series of incidents, citizens of Recanati, among the others, ravaged and plundered the cathedral, and later killed some Guelph (pro-papal) exponents. In response, in 1322, papal mercenaries besieged Recanati, and destroyed its fortifications, the main Ghibelline palaces, and the Priors' Palaces. By 1328,

546-563: Was a Roman Catholic diocese in Italy. It was founded in 1240 by Pope Gregory IX , who allowed Recanati to pass from "castrum" to "civitas". Its principal church, S. Flaviano, was raised to the dignity of a cathedral on 21 December 1239, and separated from the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Osimo . The diocese of Osimo was then suppressed, as it chose to support the Emperor Frederick II against

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572-503: Was a well-known soprano in her own right.) Later, Gigli is well known to have had a second family with Lucia Vigarani, producing three children. Gigli is rumoured to have had at least three other children with as many different women. Gigli's exact number of offspring is unknown. One known son is Phillip (Phil) J. Hildebrandt of Detroit, born in February 1934 in New York and still living. He

598-801: Was an Italian opera singer ( lyric tenor ). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tenors of his generation. Gigli was born in Recanati , in the Marche , the son of a shoemaker who loved opera. His parents did not, however, view music as a secure career. Beniamino's brother Lorenzo became a well-known painter. In 1914, he won first prize in an international singing competition in Parma . His operatic debut came on 15 October 1914, when he played Enzo in Amilcare Ponchielli 's La Gioconda in Rovigo , following which he

624-403: Was founded by a man named Giacomo Castagnari who had been an apprentice of the famous accordion maker Philip Guzzini. Castagnari opened up his own workshop and eventually handed the business down to his sons. As of 2013, the company has been passed down through three generations. The Castagnari company is unusual in continuing traditional methods of producing accordions, such as drying the wood in

650-659: Was in great demand. Gigli made many important debuts in quick succession, and always in Mefistofele : Teatro Massimo in Palermo (31 March 1915), Teatro di San Carlo in Naples (26 December 1915), Teatro Costanzi di Roma (26 December 1916), La Scala , Milan (19 November 1918), Teatro Colón , Buenos Aires (28 June 1919) and finally the Metropolitan Opera , New York City (26 November 1920). Two other great Italian tenors present on

676-478: Was overemotional during his performances, often resolving to sobbing and, in some cases, exaggerations. Many of Gigli's recordings, including complete operas with Maria Caniglia , Rina Gigli, Licia Albanese and Toti dal Monte , have been reissued on CD. Gigli recordings date back to the 1920s. Castagnari Castagnari is an Italian maker of accordions and melodeons , based in Recanati . Castagnari has been producing accordions since 1914. The company

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