Mia Martini

Mia Martini
Martini in Venice in 1973, holding the Gondola d'Oro prize won with her song "Donna Sola"
Born	Domenica Berté (1947-09-20)20 September 1947 Bagnara Calabra, Reggio Calabria, Italy
Died	12 May 1995(1995-05-12) (aged 47) Cardano al Campo, Varese, Italy
Other names	Mimì Berté
Occupation	Singer

Mia Martini (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmiːa marˈtiːni]; born Domenica Berté [doˈmeːnika berˈte]; 20 September 1947 – 12 May 1995) was an Italian singer.

She was born Domenica Berté in 1947 in Bagnara Calabra (province of Reggio Calabria, in southern Italy, the second among four daughters. The youngest of them, Loredana Berté, was born on the same day and month as Martini, and also became famous as a singer. Her father, Giuseppe Radames Berté, was a teacher of Latin and Greek. Her mother, Maria Salvina Dato (died 2003), was an elementary school teacher. "Mimi" as Domenica was known, spent her childhood in Macerata, Porto Recanati. In 1962, she convinced her mother to take her Milan for an audition.

She recorded her first records as Mimì Berté, but soon decided to change her name to Mia Martini. She represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest twice: in 1977 with "Libera" (13th out of 18), and in 1992 with "Rapsodia" (4th out of 23). That same year she recorded "Per amarti", written by Bruno Lauzi and Maurizio Fabrizio. She won the World Popular Song Festival Yamaha in Tokyo with "Ritratto di donna" who comes to the first positions in the Japanese charts. In 1982 she participated at the Sanremo Festival. In late 1983, she decided to retire. In 1992, she was back in the race at the Sanremo Festival with "Gli uomini non cambiano", by Giancarlo Bigazzi and Beppe Dati. She won second place, allowing her to represent Italy at Eurovision again, which that year was held in Sweden, where she closed with in fourth place with "Rapsodia".

She suffered from painful fibroids, for which she took prescription medication. On 14 May 1995, her body was found in the apartment in Via Liguria 2, in Cardano al Campo. According to the coroner's report, her death was by cardiac arrest caused by an overdose of drugs. Her body was cremated.