You would say that he was born in New York in 1969. We are talking about Sal Da Vinci, the winner of the Sanremo Festival with Per Semper Sì. Who spoke about his song and its success like this: «Forever yes it’s a song that comes from the people, from below, but has entered the hearts of many people. Because love is not an ancient thing. My music is for everyone and belongs to everyone. I am happy, dazed by this outcry, everything is surprising to me. My whole life passed before me and having that affection from the room, so overbearing, totally invaded me. I thought about the whole journey I had made and thought that if it happened to me, it could happen to anyone: the important thing is to believe in it.”
Sal Da Vinci has a long history linked to Sanremo before this victory, already announced by the first performance, aroused much enthusiasm. «In 1984 I came with my father to Sanremo for the first time and I promised him that I would never return to Sanremo until I got on that stage. I had a beautiful relationship with Pippo Baudo, even very tender, but he never took me to the Festival. Then I came there for an event hosted by Carlo Conti together with Gigi D’Alessio and Lucio Dalla. And my first Sanremo as a singer was in 2009.”
But let’s start again from the beginning. Sal Da Vinci, stage name of Salvatore Michael Sorrentino, is a Neapolitan artist born in 1969 in New York during a tour of his father, Mario Da Vinci, famous singer and actor. He made his theater debut at just 7 years old, acting alongside important figures of Italian cinema and theatre.
In 1984 he was the protagonist of the film “Il Motorino”, which became a cult, and in 1987 he starred in “Troppo Forte” by and with Carlo Verdone and with Alberto Sordi. But it is the immense love for music that takes over. In 1994, with Dischi Ricordi, he won the Canale 5 Italian Festival with the song “Vera”. This song becomes a hit in Latin America with the title “Vida”, reinterpreted by Marcos Llunas, which reaches first place on the Billboard charts for several months. Subsequently, maestro Roberto De Simone chose him as the protagonist in “Opera Buffa del Gesù Maundy”.
From 2002 to 2006, he played the main role in the musical “C’era Una Volta…Scugnizzi” by Claudio Mattone and Enrico Vaime, directed and choreographed by Gino Landi, obtaining the ETI award for the best musical of 2003.
In 2009, he placed third at the Sanremo Festival with “Non Riesco A Farti Innamorare”.
In the 2014 album “Se Amore È” he collaborates with artists such as Gaetano Curreri, Clementino, Ornella Vanoni and Gigi D’Alessio. Duet with the Brazilian singer Ana Carolina in the song “Coisas”, soundtrack of the telenovela “I Love Paraisópolis”. In 2016, he released the album “Non Si Fanno Prigionieri”, written together with Renato Zero, with whom he duetted on the song “Singoli”.
In the theatre, he is the protagonist of highly successful musicals such as “Stelle A Metà”, for which he writes the soundtrack and music, subsequently of “Italiano Di Napoli” and in 2019 of “La Fabbrica Dei Sogni”. For years, Sal Da Vinci has been offering his audience a series of shows that are renewed every year, bringing to the stage of the Teatro Augusteo in Naples a format that, while remaining faithful to its essence, is enriched each time with new adaptations and styles. All his theatrical and musical shows have received incredible feedback from the public and critics, systematically registering months of sell-out events and becoming real box office records. His talent and his ability to excite have made him one of the most loved and followed artists on the Italian scene.
In June 2024 he released “Rossetto e Caffè”, a single that became an unprecedented phenomenon, dominating the charts and the collective imagination. With over 120 million streams, collected across YouTube, Spotify and all digital platforms, the song obtained two platinum records and became one of the most listened to songs of the year. The video clip reaches first place in the YouTube Italy charts, confirming itself as the most viewed video of 2024. At the 75th Sanremo Festival he is on the Ariston stage with The Kolors in the cover evening for a special performance of the song.
In December 2024 he released the single “Non è vero che sto bene”, a song that explores the complexities of love and feelings.
In the same month the concert-show “Stasera…che sera!”, which welcomed over 40,000 spectators in 24 performances, confirming its popularity on the national music scene.
In May 2025 “L’amore e tu” was released by Warner Music Italy, an intense and engaging pop ballad.
In summer 2025 Sal Da Vinci brings his music live with STASERA CHE SERA! – Summer Tour 2025, which sees him as a protagonist throughout Italy and culminates in a major event on 6 September in Piazza del Plebiscito, in his beloved Naples. This evening represents, first of all, a choral moment in which Sal Da Vinci chooses to entrust his audience – once again – not only with his music, but also with the most intimate sense of his story. At his side are Renato Zero, Gigi D’Alessio, Stefano De Martino, Raf, Fausto Leali, Clementino, Serena Brancale, Martina Stella and Fabio Esposito, Federica Abbate and other surprise guests. There is also an intimate and symbolic parenthesis with the participation of Francesco Da Vinci, who takes the stage with his father in an emotional performance. A passing of the baton that unites past, present and future in the name of music.
In autumn 2025 in prime time Canale 5 he is coach of “Io Canto Family”.
