Madonna's Birthday in Puglia: Not so much Like a Virgin

8/17/2017

Madonna wearing a Dolce and Gabbana floral dress while with her 11 year old son

To be honest, when my wife Lisa and I were first getting to know each other, I used to hide her Madonna CDs under the front seat of her car where she couldn't find them. I never really liked Madonna or the nasal sound of her voice. I also though her dancing was pedantic at best. But when I heard about her spending her 59th birthday in Puglia, I thought perhaps there's hope for her celebrity soul yet. Puglia is one of the most interesting and beautiful places on the planet, and one of the most under-rated regions of Italy.

Heading to church wearing Dolce and Gabanna

Nowadays, she juggles her jet-setting lifestyle, aging music career and six kids, always with entourage in tow. She is known for taking whirlwind birthday voyages and this past summer was no exception... she spent her 59th in Puglia. She does have some nerve, though... The 16th of August is MY birthday. I'm supposed to be the special one on that day. (My son Lucas' was born just before midnight on August 15th). I should have been enjoying my birthday in Puglia--not her.

Sometimes still a Catholic, she was even seen taking in a visit to a church in the baroque city of Lecce with her son and twin daughters tagging along--a white sweater covering her shoulders, as is the custom for women in Italian churches. The sweater also covered her very expensive Dolce & Gabanna floral print dress, too.

Well, "Mamma didn't preach" when they went to church, and afterwards par-tayd all night long at a huge outdoor birthday party where she arrived on top of a white stallion who appeared very happy to see her, nudge, nudge, say no more...

Later in the evening when everyone was considerably loosened up with local Primativo wine, she danced an odd flamenco to the southern pizzica (similar to the tarantella) music and the beat of the tamborello. Happy birthday, fellow Leo.

(Wondering if those old CDs got traded in with that car...)

--Jerry Finzi

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