Sting was accused of slandering a late Italian duke who sold him his vineyards in Tuscany 25 years ago. The son of the nobleman Simone Zati di San Clemente Jr. jumped against the musician.
The dispute arose after Gordon Sumner told the weekly Sete on August 13 how he was persuaded to buy a Palagio winery near Florence in 1997 by its owner, Simone Zati di San Clemente, after tasting a glass of miraculous red wine, which he offered him. Then it turned out that the wine was barolo from the Piedmont region, not Tuscan Chianti. According to the publication, the singer was deceived to pay for “Palagio”, which produces 150,000 bottles a year.
In the interview, Sting said that he realized the truth about the origin of the wine only after he bought the winery and the vineyards and noticed that his guests poured red wine into the bushes instead of drinking it. He and his wife decided to “get revenge” by starting to produce “excellent wine from the vineyards of” Palagio “.
In a long rebuttal, the late duke’s 45-year-old son, who died at the age of 86 in 2012, described Sting’s allegations as “defamatory, poisonous and completely untrue”. He wonders why Sting didn’t object earlier while his father was still alive.
Simone Vincenzo Veluti Jati-junior claims that it was completely atypical for his father to present barolo for chianti and says that Sting’s accusations not only do not correspond to the truth, but also severely tarnish his father’s memory.
Sting also responded with a letter on August 24, in which he offered his sincere and unequivocal apologies and acknowledged that the way the case was presented in the publication was disrespectful.
Sting called the duke “a noble man who never deceived me,” and explained his claims that he had made fun of himself in this way by the fact that 25 years ago he “could not distinguish barolo from soap.”
The music news alongside the Briton is that two years after the album “My songs”, Sting is ready with the next one – “The Bridge”, announced yesterday from “Animato Music”. It will be on the market from November 19.
Curiously, as times dictate, its creation took place mostly online. “It was certainly time for new recordings, but the circumstances were unique. It’s hard to get people together, so the work was remote, via Zoom, with the help of studio technology. But I think the theme of the album is right – for I didn’t start that way, I just wrote songs, but at one point in the process, I saw, “Oh, that’s what it’s about!” These songs are between two dimensions, between one state of mind and another. between life and death, between human connections. Between pandemics and eras. Politically, socially and psychologically, we are all halfway between something and we need a “bridge” to connect us, “said the former Polis frontman.
The singer says that he kept himself in good shape, starting work at 10.30 am and did not stop until the evening. Asked recently by the Los Angeles Times if he had been vaccinated, he said: “I’m old enough to remember what a polio nightmare was – children in the neighborhood were crippled by a disease that was eradicated very quickly with vaccines. away from people who doubt their effectiveness. It’s dangerous to tell people they don’t trust vaccines. “
According to the artist, the project is a retrospective that shows the different levels and genres through which he goes through his entire creative career.
About his 30-year marriage, Sting says that every day is like signing a new contract, and that you have to work constantly to be successful. “Thank God I have a great partner. We’ve spent a lot of the last two years together, more time than ever. And she’s still tolerating me,” he smiles.
The lead single from the album “If It’s Love” Sting released today as an audio version.
