Raffaella Carrà, singer, dancer and actress, known as the queen of Italian TV, is to get a five euro coin in her memory, the Italian Mint announced Tuesday. Carrà died last July at the age of 78. The decision to dedicate a coin to the iconic showgirl was taken after results emerged from a poll of Mint clients.
Carrà starred with Frank Sinatra in Von Ryan’s Express in 1965 and found cult TV success in Spain, Argentina and other countries, becoming a gay icon. She is also credited with promoting the sexual revolution in Catholic Italy with bold songs celebrating intimate touching (Tuca tuca, 1971) and urging women to take the initiative in lovemaking (A fare l’amore comincia tu, 1976). She was slammed by the Vatican for showing her belly button on live TV in 1970.
The coin is among many tributes to the TV legend in Italy and abroad. RAI State broadcaster has named a new studio after her and Madrid has named a public square after her. The initiative was proposed by the Más Madrid group “in order to valorise the memory of this woman, singer, composer, presenter, dancer, choreographer and icon of reference for all the Madrileni and Madrilene and in particular for the LGTBI + community”.
The Carrà coin will be part of a Great Italian Artists series, which earlier this year saw a coin named after acting legend Alberto Sordi, who beat actor Nino Manfredi, writer and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini and actor Ugo Tognazzi in a poll. Carrà herself beat cinema icons Anna Magnani and Monica Vitti, as well as comedian Anna Marchesini.
