Sergio Zavoli

Sergio Zavoli
Zavoli in 2013
Member of the Senate of the Republic
In office
30 May 2001 – 22 March 2018
ConstituencyEmilia-Romagna (2001–2013)
Campania (2013–2018)
Personal details
Born(1923-09-21)21 September 1923
Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Kingdom of Italy
Died4 August 2020(2020-08-04) (aged 96)
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Resting placeMonumental Cemetery of Rimini
Political partyDS (2004–2007)
PD (2007–2018)
Spouses
  • Rosalba
    ​
    (died 2014)​
  • Alessandra Chello
    ​
    (m. 2017)​
Children1
ProfessionPolitician, journalist

Sergio Wolmar Zavoli (21 September 1923 – 4 August 2020) was an Italian sports and documentary journalist and politician.

Born in Ravenna and raised in Rimini,[1][2] Zavoli joined RAI, Italy's state broadcaster, as a sports radio journalist in 1947.[1][3] He won two Prix Italia awards for his travel documentary Notturno a Cnosso (1953) and Clausura (1957),[4][5] which included interviews with enclosed nuns.[4] In 1962, he inaugurated the first transmission of Il processo alla tappa  [it], a popular series of sports programmes dedicated to the Giro d'Italia.[1][6] Zavoli's notable historical documentaries included Nascita di una dittatura (1972),[6] which won the Saint-Vincent Prize [it],[3][7] and La notte della Repubblica (1989–90), which documented the Years of Lead.[1][8] Zavoli served as RAI's president between 1980 and 1986.[1][9]

In the 2001 general election, Zavoli was elected senator for the Democrats of the Left,[1][10] and was reelected for the Olive Tree and Democratic Party in subsequent elections until his retirement at the 2018 general election.[1][11] Between 2009 and 2013, he served as Chairman of the RAI Supervisory Commission.[3][12] Zavoli died in Rome on 4 August 2020, aged 96,[12] and was laid to rest near Riminese filmmaker Federico Fellini, a close friend, in the Monumental Cemetery of Rimini.[13]

Alongside his journalism and political career, Zavoli published several fictional and non-fictional books.[8] His documentaries were notable for platforming voices directly,[3][14] and their respectful portrayal of political opponents.[14]

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  11. ^ "Sergio Zavoli: "Non so se in Italia ci sarà ancora una sinistra"" [Sergio Zavoli: "I don't know if there will still be a left in Italy"]. La Repubblica (in Italian). 14 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
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