We read in Friday's Corriere a curious thing that Frengo ("Franco Zeffirelli" for those not in the know) is insisting is 100% true. After receiving an Italian achievement award recently at the Quirinale, Zeffirelli announced to everyone that he is distilled from a prestigious line of greatness, more specifically from the Leonardo da Vinci clan.
He said, "It's not a joke, but Leonardo da Vinci was indeed my ancestor." He went on to say, "The Corsi's: they are my family, as well as the same family descended from Leonardo. My great, great grandfather got a peasant girl pregnant, and she gave birth to the great Leonardo."
It all came about when he received a package from his father that contained loads of letters explaining the lineage. Remember, Zeffirelli was illegitimately born, and his last name was plucked capriciously from Idomeneo, "Zeffiretti", which was mistakenly written in official records as “Zeffirelli”.
Vouching the authenticity is Alessandro Vezzosi, director of the Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci, who says that truly, Frengo is 100% a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. ha ha. playin. He's Frengo. Frengo da Vinci.
***update***
Friend of OC, SarahB, has just wallowed in the HD glory of Frengo's Aida on a NYC screen.
Jeez.... ur first article was back in the days when coccodrillo was ur main squeeze.
Now he has moved on to a thigh fetish for older woman, and U sweet OC, just remain regaling us with tales from another world.
Posted by: CrewMantle | December 03, 2007 at 01:35 AM
sooooo....his great great grandfather got a peasant girl pregnant? Let's count back...
he was born in 1923; assuming, slightly unreasonably, that each male ancestor was 50 years old when the child was born, that makes his great great grandfather born in 1723...
When was Da Vinci born? 1453?
Aaahhh, typical journos - they always get their facts wrong; in fact it would have been the great great great great great great great great grandfather.
You just can't get the quality of journalism any more...
Posted by: violainvilnius | December 03, 2007 at 06:20 AM
Yeah, and I'm the Pope's love child!!!
Frengo, mengo.
N.
Posted by: NHB | December 03, 2007 at 03:25 PM
...kinda the way Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli claimed to have descended from St. Francis of Assisi.
Posted by: MK | December 03, 2007 at 04:27 PM
mmmmmm¡..
our beloved "Maestrone" ( riccardo Muti)
claims his ancestors living in Molfetta since the 1600..
could you imagine a Muti forebear conducting a medieval assemble?¡¡¡¡¡
ahhhhh il linaggio...'¡
Posted by: pepaguardiola | December 04, 2007 at 04:27 PM
There certainly could be no connection,as
nowhere do we see in Leonardo the ultimate
bad taste of Franco.
Posted by: ariel | December 15, 2007 at 10:38 PM