Andrea Bocelli: Making the sweetest of music in Italy's splendido Portofino

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, blind since the age of 12, is the biggest-selling artist in the history of classical music. With the release this week of the CD and DVD Love In Portofino - featuring footage of his concert in 2012 - he talks about his love of Italy, Tuscany and his favourite places around the world...
My Portofino concert was inspired by the wonderful song Love In Portofino, which was on my recent album Passione.
Portofino, on the Italian Riviera, is magical - a place for lovers, a place to fall in love. Even if you're not in love, when you're in Portofino you're dreaming of being in love. I see as it as a place of great temptation.

A place to fall in love: The beautiful harbour at Portofino

It was fabulous to be able to stage my Love In Portofino concert right in the harbour at the heart of this charming town. And as all of the songs have a strong romantic theme, it was a very special romantic occasion.
I had the chance to perform music by some of the greatest artists of all time, including Ennio Morricone, Elvis Presley and Fred Buscaglione, who had a big hit in the 1950s with Love In Portofino.
In recording the album - and also at the concert - I had an opportunity to perform duets featuring wonderful singers and instrumentalists including Jennifer Lopez, Chris Botti, the Brazilian singer Sandy, the violinist Caroline Campbell and my partner Veronica Berti (we sang an Italian version of Frank and Nancy Sinatra's Something Stupid).
The project was particularly exciting because as well as a CD, we've produced a DVD containing footage from the live concert in August 2012 which we performed before an audience of friends and fellow musicians including Sir Michael Caine, the legendary crooner Paul Anka and Italian actress Ornella Muti. Portofino is a small but highly spectacular place, a natural space, a natural theatre of indescribable beauty. And I'm pleased that the film of the concert really captures the sublime essence of the place I was lucky enough to travel there on my boat, which provided the perfect base. But I have to admit that we did slip away for a night at Portofino's famous Hotel Splendido, situated above the town and which has welcomed nearly every famous person who has travelled here.

Music to match the setting: Andrea recorded his latest CD/DVD in Portofino

The Hotel Splendido is, well, splendid!
Staying there was a special treat because I had been to Portofino as a child when my family passed through, and we couldn't have dreamed of staying somewhere like that. Tuscany is the place where I was born and where I grew up. People think Tuscany is one of the most beautiful places in the world. For me, there's no doubt about that, but it's much more than just that. I am very tied to this part of Italy, I have stayed close to my roots. My home now is in Forte dei Marmi, a lovely resort on the Tuscan coast, just north of Pisa - I'm 60 miles from the place where I lived as a child and where my family still live.
Tuscany is famous for its wine, its food and its gentle rolling hills, but for me it is a place of music, where famous composers such as Puccini and Mascagni were born; there are also many great singers and composers famous in Tuscany, but perhaps not so well-known outside here.
There is no scientific criterion that says a particular place allows people's talents to flourish - but I do believe that each one of us is the sum of our experiences. There's that song that goes 'it's nice to go travelling but it's so much nicer to come home'. For me, it's so nice to come back to Tuscany. I love returning to my family and friends.
There are lots of places in Italy that I enjoy - the country is full of absolutely splendid places. If you're looking for great seaside, the islands of the Tuscan archipelago are some of the most beautiful islands. And then there's the Amalfi Coast, and the islands off Naples - Ischia and Capri and Procida, plus Sicily and Sardinia. So you really have a very broad choice.
Almost every region in Italy has its own special brand of music. Who can resist Naples, where you hear Neapolitan songs wherever you go? Stroll around Venice and it won't be long before you hear the music of Vivaldi drifting out of a church or being played by an outdoor orchestra in some square.
Other places in the world I have especially enjoyed include Israel, which left a very powerful impression on me. And I was enchanted by a lot of countries in South America.

Heavenly hideaway: The Hotel Splendido lives up to its name

Meanwhile, in North America the climate of California is enchanting too. Almost everywhere in the world has its beauties; it's a question of seeking them out. You can find them - it's a matter of knowing how.
Unfortunately, when I'm performing, the schedule usually takes me from the hotel to the concert hall and then to the airport. If I made more time when I'm abroad, it would mean spending less time at home with my family. And my family is the most important thing to me.
I didn't travel very much when I was growing up. Holidays were generally spent at home. Sometimes we were lucky enough to go to the seaside - I have very fond memories of family trips to Forte dei Marmi. My father had a small flat in Lido di Camaiore, a town just down the coast.
I love holidays but I don't always love travelling. For me, a real holiday is to stay at home. I have a particular dislike of the business of flying and the rigmarole involved in passing through airports.
But performing keeps me travelling.

Home sweet home: Andrea now lives in Forte dei Marmi on the Tuscan coast

My next journey will take me to perform in Chile, Guatemala and Mexico. It will mean covering big distances in a relatively short time.
This is why the concert in Portofino was such a delight.
My favourite concert is the one I do every year in the Teatro del Silenzio (Theatre of Silence), an open-air amphitheatre situated in Lajatico, my home town. The theatre hosts a concert by me once every July and lies silent the rest of the year.
I perform here with special guests and it's a wonderful occasion. Come to Tuscany for its beauty, but come next year and enjoy my music too.