Miglio, singer-songwriter who moved to Bologna

Tells her story in Promenade...

Alessia Zappamiglio, aka MIGLIO, a young singer-songwriter from Brescia who has moved to Bologna and winner of the Ciao contest - Lucio Dalla song section 2023.

Tell us about yourself and how Bologna has helped you to grow in terms of music

I started writing and playing music when I was about thirteen; I discovered music at an early age and it has never ceased to fascinate me.
I have lived in Bologna for a few years now and it has been an important place for my artistic/musical and also human development. This city has offered me the chance to play music frequently, I first performed in cultural clubs, community centres and coffee shops for the price of a few beers.
Bologna opened me up to sociality, enriched me from a cultural point of view as well, it is an inclusive city where I have had the opportunity to meet people and have many experiences.

It is the place where I have decided to live.

Who has inspired your music over the years?

There have been and still are many stimuli. All the Italian singer-songwriters have definitely had a strong influence on me, Lucio Dalla among the first and then the alternative movement, particularly that of the 80s with a focus on the scene that influenced Bologna, starting with Pier Vittorio Tondelli for writing, Pazienza, Francesca Alinovi, theunderground and the Italian new wave which Bologna was a benchmark for in those years.

The Bologna of tomorrow: what do you expect and what would you like to find there?

I hope it will once again become even more of an artistic center with inclusive places for sharing ideas, social clubs and initiatives for creating aggregation, an art movement and contamination, places for young people that can give opportunities. 

Where do you feel at home in Bologna?

There are lots of places... I can name some of them in no particular order: Bolognina district, the Sunshine pub, Piazza Maggiore, Jewish Ghetto, Piazza Santo Stefano , Fermento and others...

What's your favourite Bolognese word and why?

Definitely "vez”. 

I remember that the first few times I heard this term used I found it distant or at least not easy to use on a daily basis. Now, after years of living here, it has completely voluntarily and naturally entered my daily speech whenever I communicate with close friends.