Marco Maccarini: “On foot in search of myself, getting lost is absolute freedom. Fame? I don't miss it. On TV the only one who bewitched me was Alanis Morissette”

Milan – The one with the dreads . Long and blond. That all his girlfriends went crazy for. Marco Maccarini, one of the most envied men on the planet. At least at the beginning of the millennium. Everyone has their own hell, agreed. But working for MTV from the beaches of Ibiza doesn’t seem like one of the worst fates. At his feet the crowds of Trl and Festivalbar . Then the priorities changed. And an ancient, solitary, spiritual activity has become fundamental: walking. So much so that he wrote about the subject “ A Tenth of You”, coming out for Limina and a guest at the Salone del Libro on Saturday. As long as he gets there in time. Since he decided to walk to Turin.

Marco, where are you at?

“I’m leaving Milan now. I see horrible barracks in the distance, I’m not in the tundra. Even though my dream is to one day travel empty of everything, without even knowing where to go. A condition in which the concept of “getting lost” no longer makes sense.”

Doesn't that prospect scare you?

“Not at all. I actually consider it an ideal state, of absolute freedom.”

When did you discover this new dimension?

“Even as a child I enjoyed hiking with my parents, the effort. I think it was an imprinting. I then remember the first Camino, that of Santiago. Undertaken after hearing the father of a friend of mine, a cultured man, say “If I had done it before, my life would have been different.” A journey that in 2005 was not yet so fashionable. But the real change came only in 2016”.

What was the initial impetus?

“For the first time I felt the need to slow down. I could no longer find on TV those ideal conditions of those who work with passion but without thinking of having open-heart surgery. Balance that instead had characterized my first 15 years of television. At that moment I decided to cross Liguria on foot, from La Spezia to Menton where my children were, sharing the journey on social media. An incredible experience. And since then every year I have crossed a couple of regions of Italy”.

What is the condition of the traveler?

“It allows you to come into contact with the great beauty of the world and of people, capable of offering you anything in times of need: a smile, water, something to eat. In Sicily, even a two-kilo melon, I had to refuse”.

How present is spiritual tension?

"It's unavoidable, you really have to put a stopper so you don't want to look outside and inside yourself in a situation like this. Then I also choose the lightest communication, the anecdote, the curious thing. Like the fact that a little while ago I passed under the balcony in the Duomo where we were doing Trl. But you spend so many hours alone with yourself, that you are forced to ask your question to the universe. And above all to let your thoughts run, even the bad ones, that suddenly slip away, lose friction".

I think there was little friction already on the beaches of Ibiza.

“Well, MTV on the Beach was a wonderful experience. More tiring than you might think, though. It was broadcast all summer but we recorded in a short period of time. So at least three episodes a day, you arrived at sunset cooked, skinned to death. Everyone who approached me then felt they had the right to ask me if I had been with Kris & Kris or what she was like in private. Really absurd things”.

Do you miss that kind of visibility?

“No, absolutely not. But I am pleased that I am recognized for having brought a bit of innovation to TV. My hosting has always been based on everyday, colloquial language. And in this it was a breaking point”.

Have you ever gotten a big head?

"I'm from Turin, I have a certain understatement in my DNA that keeps me with my feet firmly planted on the ground. The problem is that I can never enjoy things very much."

Special encounters?

“Only once was I bewitched, I even lost control and had to interrupt the interview for a few minutes, I didn't understand anything anymore. It was all Alanis Morissette's "fault". She had bewitched me. I am presumptuous enough to think that it was a mutual thing but there was no more opportunity to meet. Nothing”.

What do we find in his book?

“The stories of those years, the behind the scenes, the journeys and adventures, my life and work path. So there is also a slightly lighter aspect, while little by little important concepts emerge, such as that of letting go. It is a guide to the journey in general, a vademecum on how to approach your own, very personal journey”.