Salvatore Licitra was born in Switzerland, and grew up in Milan, but his family are from Acate, a small town in the south of Sicily.
Although Licitra is still in a coma in Catania, his family have agreed to let the Acate Town Council proceed with a ceremony on September 5 when the tenor will be made an honorary citizen of the town.

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.
His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.