From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Franco Califano (14 September 1938 – 30 March 2013) was an Italianlyricist, composer, singer-songwriter, author and actor. During his career Califano has sold about 20 million records. Life and career Born in an airplane above Tripoli, Libya, Califano lived most of his life in Rome (in whose dialect he usually sang) and Milan. In the 1960s he began his career in music as a lyricist... see more