WHO IS VANNI
Mnemonist, actor and performer.
Inspired by the phenomena of memory and the spectacular feats of human calculators of the early 1900s, Vanni has made the art of entertaining with memory his reason for living.
Among the suggestions and scents of an era distant to us, Vanni tells the stories of his masters and predecessors, from Harry Kahne to Datas "The Memory Man", opening the casket of his multifaceted skills: how to recall the day of the week relating to any date in history, memorize long numerical series in few seconds and push multitasking to extreme levels.
The theatrical activity is combined with that of trainer in the business environment and lecturer for the most important science and dissemination festivals.
ENDORSEMENTS
Arturo Brachetti
If they talk to you about Vanni De Luca, you could imagine him in Paris, a scientist in a novel by Julius Verne or an illusionist at the Egyptian Hall in Victorian London or a spirit summoner in Boston at the end of the 19th century. Instead he is here, young and dynamic, among us, in the 21st century and still manages with his polished eloquence to make us appreciate paradoxes, miracles and mysteries. Vanni is the juggler of the mind and the unconscious, living proof that our brain is still a planet full of unexplored resources.
Raul Cremona
A mind like that of Vanni De Luca is always in training and to do so he plays a lot of chess. If you go to eat with him and the tablecloth is checkered, it takes up to fifteen minutes to pass the salt.
Massimo Polidoro
Vanni De Luca is one of those very rare figures who manage to perfectly combine profound human and artistic abilities. A man capable of bringing an extraordinary talent to the stage, capable of arousing discussion and curiosity. Wonderful!
AWARDS
FIRST
CLASSIFIED
ITALIAN MENTALISM CHAMPIONSHIP
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
OF MAGIC
WORLD STREET MAGIC CHAMPIONSHIP
11 THINGS YOU (MAYBE) DON'T KNOW ABOUT VANNI
YOU CAN STILL LIVE WITHOUT THEM
1.
PLAYS 4 INSTRUMENTS (OR AT LEAST, TRIES)
He started at 21 with guitar and slowly integrated with piano, drums and bass under the guidance of Master Fabio Valdemarin, internationally renowned musician who boasts collaborations with artists such as Fiorella Mannoia and Angelo Branduardi. Fabio is also the composer of the music for the shows by Arturo Brachetti and Vanni himself.
2.
PLAYS CHESS
The passion was born at an early age, when De Agostini published Dragon Ball Z Chess. As a true fan of the cartoon, he had to take possession of that fetish.
After so many sacrifices made (by his parents!) to buy all the weekly releases, today the set is reported missing.
In 2021, after watching de The Queen's Gambit, passion has returned to knock on the door and today Vanni plays live and on chess.com, while cultivating the desire to play competitively.
click here to view his account and challenge him.
3.
HUGE FAN OF ELIO AND THE TENSE STORIES
It all began in 1996, at the age of eight, listening to the very famous The land of persimmons, played on the stage of the Ariston theater, on the occasion of the Sanremo Festival.
Three years later, thanks to his first radio given to him by his father, he discovers Cordially, on Radio Deejay, a program hosted by Linus and the Elios and tense stories. To date the longest-running program of all Italian radio.
Exposure to listening causes Vanni to feel towards the band, especially the keyboard player Rocco Tank, something we could even call love.
He knows almost all the episodes by heart (one a week for about 25 years) and dreams of competing in the Risk it all swearing he can answer any question on the subject.
Today Vanni and Rocco tag each other on Instagram in photos that leak a lot of post production. And they are not ashamed of it.
4.
DANCES SWING
He started in September 2021 with the intention of learning some choreography to re-propose in his shows and he found himself dancing every other day.
According to rumors he can be spotted from time to time in places like the Spirit de Milan, dancing Lindy Hop.
5.
WORLD MEDIEVAL FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP
In May 2018 fifteenth-century armor, weapons and warriors from 35 countries stormed the Castle of Santa Severa (Rome) for a battle with no holds barred. All of this is BOTN - Battle Of The Nations, the medieval wrestling world championship.
No stuntmen - this type of wrestling is a full-fledged sport.
The event was co-organized by the team of Feudalism and Liberty, who chose Vanni as special speaker and master of ceremonies.
There was no shortage of triplets and Dantesque invectives.
Besides the blows, of course.
6.
VOICE FOR THE BARDOMAGNO
On the occasion of their debut album, the Bardomagno, official minstrels of the Feudalism and Freedom movement, asked Vanni to participate in the recording of two rather particular intros: Mettete la cipolla, voi ch'entrate e Un sacco catari.
You can listen to the tracks by clicking here.
At your own risk.
7.
A TOUR ON THE STREETS
In the summer of 2019 Vanni gave birth to SPAM (Peripatetic School of Mnemonic Art), a singular mix between en plein air theater and wandering school, where the mnemonic performance have turned into dissemination tools designed to invite the participants to discover the wonderful world of memory techniques and embrace their use in everyday life, from study to the professional field.
The place chosen for such an inclusive idea, it could only be the street.
Vanni visited 21 provinces in 30 days, concluding the tour in the city of San Marino, visiting one of the richest collections of books, articles and memorabilia on the subject of memory and mnemonics existing today: the Young Fund.
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8.
750 KILOMETERS BY BIKE FOR DANTE
In May 2015, on the occasion of the 750 years from the birth of Dante (we only know he was born under the constellation of Gemini, in 1265), Vanni has traveled 750 kilometers by bike starting from Milan to get to Florence (birthplace of the Great Poet) and Ravenna (place of death).
For this very special event he bought one city bike immediately baptized Beatrice.
In the photo, the long-awaited meeting between the two.
9.
THE FLIGHT INTO AN EMPTY POOL
(in a barn owl dress)
On the occasion of a concert by Nanowar Of Steel, the guitarist Mohammed Abdul (born Valerio Storch) asked Vanni to interpret the night owl on the notes of their success The Night Hunter.
At one point, Vanni had the (amazing, he sais) decision to descend into the audience of Villa Tittoni in Desio, to glide over the cheering crowd.
You can imagine his surprise when he stumbled, flying into the empty swimming pool, in the center of the villa.
Here the video of the epic night.
Incidentally, the day after he held in Padua, for the CICAP festival (committee founded by Piero Angela), the premiere of his conference show The art of memory in the Divine Comedy.
Rock life.
10.
THE FIRST STAGE: THE TRAFFIC LIGHT
Vanni started by performing right at the traffic lights, with a magic trick which involved a small ball and a cup.
The flash of the red light was followed by 45 seconds of magic, 15 to collect the free offers, and another handful of seconds to sneak away before the restart of the green light.
By clicking here you will be able to navigate the exact place in the city of Turin where he used to perform.
11.
FORMER JUDO ATHLETE
The encounter with magic was a real coincidence.
As a teenager, Vanni's big dream was to be able to participate in the Olympics by representing Italy in the sport he had already practiced for several years: judo.
Just before the age of eighteen, a serious shoulder injury prevented him from achieving that goal.
But much has remained of judo, such as discipline, composure, as well as the most important virtue imparted to him by the late Master Mauro Gramazio, and which certainly led him to reinvent himself:
柔道 judo = way of adaptability.
