Acqua Fragile is an Italian

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band, active from 1971 to 1975 and from 2013 to the present. The band was established in the city of

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. Bernardo Lanzetti, leader and vocalist of the band, is best known for his work with

Premiata Forneria Marconi Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (translation: ''Award-winning Marconi Bakery'') is an Italian progressive rock band founded in 1970 which continues to the present day. They were the first Italian group to have success internationally. The group ...

and has played in many other progressive rock acts, including neoprogressive band Mangala Vallis.

History

The first lineup of the band, named "Gli Immortali" ("The Immortals") comprised Bernardo Lanzetti (vocals), Gino Campanini (electric guitar), Piero Canavera (drums), Maurizio Mori (keyboards) and Franz Dondi (bass guitar). Of those, Dondi was the most established musician, as he had formerly played in another small band, "I Moschettieri" ("The Musketeers") which had released a single and opened for the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

. At the beginning of the 1970s, Gli Immortali were noticed by members of PFM (one of the most successful italian rock bands of the times), and PFM's manager Franco Mamone adopted Lanzetti's group as well, which had by then changed its name to "Acqua Fragile". With Mamone's help, Acqua Fragile were hired to open for prominent progressive rock acts such as

Soft Machine Soft Machine are an English Rock music, rock band from Canterbury, Kent. The band were formed in 1966 by Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Larry Nowlin. Soft Machine were central in the Canterbury scene; they became o ...

, Uriah Heep and

Gentle Giant Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. They were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of the members. All of the band members were multi-instrument ...

. In 1973 they released their first, eponymous, album ''

Acqua Fragile Acqua Fragile is an Italian progressive rock band, active from 1971 to 1975 and from 2013 to the present. The band was established in the city of Parma. :it:Bernardo Lanzetti, Bernardo Lanzetti, leader and vocalist of the band, is best known for h ...

'' on the Italian label Numero Uno. This debut work was clearly inspired by British progressive rock bands

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

and

, and had English lyrics, something quite unusual for Italian bands at the time, even more so since the album was not released outside of Italy. Even Lanzetti's voice sounded very much like that of

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

. The next album '' Mass Media Stars'' (1974) was released in both Italy and the United States, a move that was intended to leverage PFM's recent success overseas. At about the same time the new keyboardist

Joe Vescovi Joe Vescovi (1 January 1949 – 28 November 2014) was an Italian progressive rock keyboard player, considered as one of the prominent musicians of the 1970s Italian progressive rock scene, best known for his work in bands The Trip and Dik Dik. A s ...

(formerly with The Trip) moved in. Shortly thereafter Lanzetti, leader and vocalist of the band, left to join PFM for their next album '' Chocolate Kings''. The band replaced Lanzetti with Roby Facini (former member of Top 4 and

Dik Dik Dik Dik is an Italian beat/ pop-rock band, named after the antelope Dik-dik, formed in the 1960s and still active. They were most popular in the late 1960s, when they released a string of hit singles with the contribution of renowned lyric-write ...

), but this did not revive the success of Acqua Fragile. The band eventually split in 1975. After the breakup, Acqua Fragile members pursued independent projects. Lanzetti has had a relatively successful solo career and later joined neoprogressive group Mangala Vallis. Dondi and Canavera played in several groups (including a

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band, tribute group or tribute artist is a Musical ensemble, music group, Singing, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the so ...

). In 2004 Dondi founded a new group, called "Acqua Fragile Project", as a revival act in honor of Acqua Fragile; the project ended in 2006. Lanzetti, Canavera and Dondi reformed as Acqua Fragile in 2013, and released the albums ''A New Chant'' in 2017 and ''Moving Fragments'' in 2023.

Membership

1971–1974

* Bernado Lanzetti: vocals * Gino Campanini: guitar * Piero Canavera: drums * Franz Dondi: bass * Maurizio Mori: keyboards

1974–1975

* Bernado Lanzetti: vocals * Gino Campanini: guitar * Piero Canavera: drums * Franz Dondi: bass * Joe Vescovi: keyboards

1975

* Roby Fancini: vocals * Gino Campanini: guitar * Piero Canavera: drums * Franz Dondi: bass * Joe Vescovi: keyboards

2013–2017

* Bernado Lanzetti: vocals * Piero Canavera: drums * Franz Dondi: bass

2023

* Bernado Lanzetti: vocals * Piero Canavera: drums * Franz Dondi: bass * Claudio Tuma: guitar * Stefano Pantaleoni: keyboards * Rossella Volta: backing vocals

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' ( Numero Uno 1973 (DZSLN 55656); reissued on LP in 2016, 2020 and 2022, and on CD in 1991, 2003 and 2008) * '' Mass Media Stars'' (

Ricordi Ricordi may refer to: People * Giovanni Ricordi (1785–1853), Italian violinist and publishing company founder *Giulio Ricordi (1840–1912), Italian publisher and musician Music *Casa Ricordi, an Italian music publishing company established i ...

1974 (SMRL 6150); reissued on LP in 1991 and CD in 1991 and 2003) * ''Live in Emilia – Spring 75'' (Prehistoric Records 1994 (PR 03) on CD: live 1975 unofficial recording) * ''A New Chant'' (

Esoteric Recordings Esoteric Recordings is a UK independent record label specialising in 1970s progressive rock, folk, psychedelic, and jazz-rock reissues as part of Cherry Red Records. Its releases include both catalogue reissues and new works from artists who ...

2017 (EANTCD 1069) on CD) * ''Moving Fragments'' ( Ma.Ra.Cash Records 2023 on LP (MRCLP041) and on CD (MRC 122))

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

Italian prog website
* * *
Acqua Fragile
at

Prog Archives Prog Archives is an online fan-based website with information on progressive rock bands and musicians. Teams evaluate whether the band or musician should be added to the website or not. As of the summer of 2014, the website had web pages on 8,671 ...

Audio of ''Acqua Fragile (album)''
at

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Audio of ''Mass Media Stars''
at

Franz Dondi official site
{{Authority control Italian progressive rock groups Musical groups from Emilia-Romagna Musical groups established in 1971