Popular Japanese singer Hikaru Utada married Italian Francesco Kaliano. The newlyweds met in a London hotel, where a young man worked as a bartender
The spirit of the East penetrated the southern Italian town of Polignano a Mare (Polignano) (region of Puglia, near Bari). 31-year-old Japanese pop star Hikaru Utada married 23-year-old bartender Francesco Calianno, a native of Fasano (also Apulia, Brindisi province), but three-quarters of whose relatives live in Polignano.
Utada Hikaru was born in the United States, but adopted Japanese citizenship. The singer is popular not only in Japan, but throughout Asia. She has sold about 50 million albums worldwide. And her mother, Junko Utada (stage name Keiko Fuji), was one of the greatest Japanese enka performers (works akin to Russian romances, author).
In February of this year, Hikaru announced on her blog an engagement: “This is very unexpected, I smile, but I will get married soon. He is Italian. He is young and sincere, and all his many friends love him. He has a big and cheerful family, which seemed to come out of the manga pages (Japanese comics, ed.). Finally I reached the right age to do this, and I will be happy if he takes care of me. "
The love story of a Japanese woman and an Italian began in London, where both lived and worked. However, the wedding ceremony took place on May 23, 2014 in the cathedral of Polignano (Chiesa Matrice di Santa Maria Assunta) in the presence of numerous journalists and photojournalists from the country of the Rising Sun and not only. The latter, by hook or by crook, sought to remove the memorable event, despite the increased level of protection around the newlyweds.
The bride arrived at the wedding venue on an SUV with tinted windows, and was escorted to a church covered by Japanese umbrellas according to the tradition of her country. The groom was also accompanied by several guards. The ceremony was conducted by Don Gaetano Luca in two languages: in Italian and in English. At the same time, he conducted half of the ceremony according to Catholic traditions, and half for the unbaptized (for Utada), as the church canons provide, provided that the newlyweds plan to raise future children in the Catholic religion.
There were no VIP guests at the wedding: not even the London singer Mickey, whose presence, it would seem, was already decided. If celebrities come to the wedding, you can see them at the Abbey of St. Lorenzo in Fasano, where Hikaru and Francesco plan to meet guests ... who were asked not to talk about the details of the holiday and not even take photos - a common practice among celebrities.
