Winner of the Targa Tenco Award for Best Debut Album with Mi piace, and quickly established as a new leading voice in Italian songwriting, Anna Castiglia takes center stage at the new edition of Le Parole delle Canzoni – Treccani. Having already joined Max Gazzè as the opening act for his theater tour, she is one of the most promising talents on the contemporary music scene.
In conversation with her is Valentina Farinaccio, author of novels such as La strada del ritorno è sempre più corta(2016), Le poche cose certe (2018), and Non è al momento raggiungibile (2022), all published by Mondadori. Farinaccio collaborates with Il Venerdì – La Repubblica, D – La Repubblica, U – La Repubblica, Door, and Repubblica.it. She also curates Prospettive d’autore—a series dedicated to contemporary literature for Officina Pasolini—and coordinates the cultural activities of the Moby Dick Library in Rome.
She has made all-round creativity the cornerstone of her project. Freshness beyond any conventional framework has become a hallmark of Anna Castiglia, and her songs—musically and emotionally rich—bear witness to a stylistic expressiveness that is truly unique.
Born in Sicily and now based in Milan, Anna recently released the singles GHALI and Participio Presente—the latter a track about the endless grind of emerging artists, a race down a crowded road in search of success. The stage is where her project was born and grew: after spending recent months opening Max Gazzè’s theater shows, Anna is now in the midst of her first tour, produced by OTR Live, performing in clubs across Italy ahead of the release of her debut album later this year.
In April, she returned with the new single Whitman (feat. Ghemon) and announced the dates of her summer tour, kicking off in Milan at the Mi Ami Festival. In June, she won the 35th edition of Musicultura with Ghali. In July, she released U mari, a single she first performed while opening for Fabi Silvestri Gazzè at the Circo Massimo. On September 7, Anna opened Carmen Consoli’s concert at the Teatro Romano in Ostia Antica.
She was selected for Up Next Italia, Apple Music’s program dedicated to identifying and promoting emerging talent. On September 27, Anna released her first album, MI PIACE. The summer tour, like her spring club tour, is also an opportunity to hear her new single Decostruire (https://ada.lnk.to/decostruire; OTR Live/ADA Music Italy). Produced with Ramiro Levy and Alessandro Di Sciullo, the track explores the deconstruction of personal compromises and the expectations imposed by society and relationships.
Following the positive reception of the live session Le chiese sono chiuse with the band I PATAGARRI, in July she released the digital project Mi piace a casa di (https://ada.lnk.to/mipiaceacasadi; OTR Live/ADA Music Italy), which includes a new version of U mari featuring Selton.
On Tuesday, July 8, she was awarded the Targa Tenco for Best Debut Album—a major milestone for Anna Castiglia, who, with her debut record MI PIACE, has earned one of the most prestigious recognitions in Italian songwriting.
