Abruzzo (pronounced [aˈbruttso]) is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than 50 miles (80 km) due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Although it is geographically more of a central than southern region, ISTAT (the Italian statistical authority) considers it part of Southern Italy, a vestige of Abruzzo's historic association with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

The region is situated at the centre of the Italian peninsula facing the Adriatic, which it follows along 150 km of beaches and rocks. With an area of 10,763 km² (4,156 sq mi), and bordered on the east by the Adriatic and on the west by the Apennines, it is one of the most mountainous regions in Italy (the Corno Grande in the Gran Sasso massif, at 2,914 m (9,560.37 ft), is the highest summit in the Apennines). The rivers, although numerous, are all seasonal except for the biggest – the Pescara and the Sangro. In the interior are the 500 km² (190 sq mi) of the Abruzzo National Park, where rare examples of Mediterranean flora and fauna survive (chamois, wolves, bears, golden eagles).The climate is varied – warm and dry on the coast, an alpine climate in the mountainous interior. Major roads and railway lines link the region to the south, west and north of Italy and the rest of Europe.

Laura Alice Rossella Pausini, omri (Italian pronunciation: [pauˈziːni]; born 16 May 1974) is an Italian soul singer-songwriter. She debuted in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with the song "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an international hit, reaching the top spot on the Italian Singles Chart and the top 10 in France and the Netherlands.

Her eponymous debut album was released in Italy on 18 May 1993 and later became an international success, selling two million copies worldwide. Her second studio album, Laura, was released in 1994 and confirmed her success, selling 3,000,000 copies worldwide and spawning the hit singles "Strani amori" and "Gente". In November 1994 she released her first Spanish language album, titled Laura Pausini and composed of ten songs included in her previous works. The album was certified Diamond by the Association of Phonographic and Videographic of Spain, making her the first non-Spanish artist to sell more than 1,000,000 copies in Spain.

Irene Grandi (born 6 December 1969) is an Italian singer.

Irene Grandi was born in Florence.

She debuted in the Sanremo Music Festival in the category New Proposed with "Fuori", in 1994, which was later won by Andrea Bocelli, who was also debuting the same year.

Her first album, Irene Grandi, contained songs written with Eros Ramazzotti ("Sposati subito") and Jovanotti ("T.V.B."). In 1995, her second album, In vacanza da una vita, was released. It contained such songs as "In vacanza da una vita" and "Bum bum". These albums were followed up by Per fortuna purtroppo, Verde rosso e blu, Kose da Grandi, and Indelebile among others.

In 2000, she placed second in the Sanremo Music Festival with a song written together with Vasco Rossi.

She performed lead vocals on the song "Blue", the closing track on French producer Hector Zazou's 2003 album Strong Currents.

In 2004, she made her debut as television presenter with Marco Maccarini at the Festivalbar.

She participated as a contestant in the 60th edition of the Sanremo Music Festival in 2010 with her song La cometa di Halley (Halley's Comet).

Gianna Nannini (born 14 June 1954) is an Italian female singer-songwriter and pop musician. She may be best known for her 1986 song "Bello e Impossibile".

Born in Siena on 14 June 1954, Nannini studied piano in Lucca and then composition in Milan. She is the older sister of former Formula One racing driver Alessandro Nannini. She graduated in philosophy from the University of Siena in 1994. The following year she took part in a protest organized by Greenpeace at the French embassy in Rome against the decision of the French government to pursue nuclear experiments at Mururoa. In August 2010 she announced that she was pregnant and that she would dedicate the upcoming album to her child. Gianna showed off her pregnancy on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine wearing a T-shirt with the inscription ‘God is a woman’. On 26 November 2010 at 12am Nannini's daughter Penelope Jane Charlotte was born on the seventh floor of the Madonnina Clinic in Milan. The girl weighed 2.530 kilos and was 48 cm long.