Veteran host Amadeus, with his eyes welling up, described his return to Rai’s Teatro delle Vittorie as “a homecoming,” paying an emotional tribute to the late television icon Pippo Baudo. “I spent 25 years in the Rai family, and 25 years are not forgotten in one,” he told reporters outside the studio. “For those of us who worked for many years in this company, and in this theater, the memories remain forever.”
When asked, Amadeus strongly endorsed the idea of renaming the studio after Baudo, calling it “a truly right and beautiful thing.” He added, “Pippo was very fond of this theater… It’s up to us, to television, to ensure that those who worked here are remembered and that their legacy lasts as long as possible, forever.”
Addressing the question of a successor, Amadeus was unequivocal: “There is no heir to Baudo, no heir to [Maurizio] Costanzo, no heir to Mike Bongiorno, no heir to Raffaella Carrà. There simply isn’t because they were unique.” He did, however, single out Rosario Fiorello as the only contemporary figure who could potentially host Rai’s flagship variety shows.
Amadeus also shared a poignant personal anecdote, recalling a meeting with Baudo at a nearby restaurant before he was officially offered the Sanremo Festival hosting job. “He asked me to sit at his table… I will never forget it. He told me, ‘You must host Sanremo, and if you are asked, you must do it like this.'” He said Baudo laid out a series of commandments that have been “etched in my mind” ever since, chief among them to perform the role with “great passion, great love, and respect for the people at home.”
He concluded by reflecting on Baudo’s enduring impact, stating, “Pippo’s was a beautiful television, it was ahead of its time. Everyone can be on television, but very few actually *make* television.”
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