Italian woman, 74, dies after being reunited for one last embrace with the accordion-playing husband who serenaded her in hospital while they were kept apart by Covid
- Carla Sacchi, 74, was being treated for cancer when her husband serenaded her
- Footage shows Stefano Bozzini playing accordion from outside hospital window
- The couple, who were married for 47 years, were reunited days before Carla died
An Italian woman who was serenaded by her romantic husband from outside her hospital window has died after they were reunited one last time.
Carla Sacchi, 74, and her husband of 47 years, Stefano Bozzini, were kept apart due to Covid restrictions when she was being treated for cancer in northern Italy.
Her 81-year-old husband, Stefano, took his accordion to the street below her hospital window to serenade his beloved wife with her favourite songs.
Carla and Stefano were finally reunited one last time when she was allowed to return home before she died on Thursday.
Carla Sacchi, 74, and her husband Stefano Bozzini, 81, from northern Italy were reunited when she was allowed to return home from hospital before she died on Thursday
The mayor of Piacenza, Patrizia Barbieri, shared a touching picture of their reunion online as she paid tribute to the couple.
She said that Stefano’s gesture of ‘tenderness’ outside his wife’s hospital window reminded us what it really means to love each other.
Heartwarming footage shows Stefano Bozzini playing his accordion from the street below the hospital in Castel San Giovanni earlier this month.
The video shows Stefano sitting on a chair in the empty street, wearing a feather hat and a red jumper playing a series of love songs, including some of his wife’s favourites.
Heartwarming footage shows Stefano Bozzini playing love songs on his accordion from the street below his wife’s hospital window in Castel San Giovanni earlier this month
He opened his rendition with ‘Spanish Eyes’ by Engelbert Humperdinck, and ended his serenade by looking up at his wife and waving.
Carla can be seen watching her husband play from a second-floor window of the hospital.
The emotional tale went viral on social media and the video was shared all around the world.
His son Maurizio said Stefano had asked the hospital if he could ‘perform a few songs for her to give her five minutes of happiness’.
Stefano Bozzini (left) is seen playing his accordion to his wife Carla Sacchi (right) who watched from her second floor window. He opened his rendition with ‘Spanish Eyes’ by Engelbert Humperdinck, and ended his serenade by looking up at his wife and waving
Stefano told the Piacenza Libertà newspaper: ‘It was a sunny day, I would have liked to play longer, for the whole day’.
The hospital does not treat patients with coronavirus, but visitors were not allowed to enter the building due to restrictions aimed at reducing the spread of the virus.
The couple have been married since 1973 and Stefano learned to play the accordion on his own, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.
Stefano is a retired member of the Italian army’s Alpini mountain infantry and the hat he wears in the video is part of their uniform.
His nickname in the unit was ‘Gianni Morandi of the Alpines’ because he was always playing the accordion.
