Maria Carta was born on June 24, 1934. She was a Sardinian folk music singer-songwriter. Maria also performed in film and theatre. In 1975 she wrote a book of poetry, Canto rituale (Ritual Song).
Maria Carta
Maria Carta won the Miss Sardinia beauty contest in 1957 and later participated in the national Miss Italy competition.
Around 1960, she moved to Rome where she met the screenwriter Salvatore Laurani whom she later married. She attended the Centro Nazionale di Studi di Musica Popolare, directed by Diego Carpitella, at the National Academy of Santa Cecilia and at the same time she pursued a musical and ethnographic research path with important productions and collaborations.
In 1985, she was awarded, as songwriter, the Targo Tenco for dialectal/regional music.
She was an actress and composer, known for The Godfather: Part II (1974), The Godfather Saga (TV Mini Series 1977) and Jesus of Nazareth (TV Mini Series 1977).
Maria Carta and a young Vito Corleone; The Godfather (1974)
Maria Carta gave her last concert in Toulouse, France, on 30 June 1994. Ill with cancer, she died at her home in Rome on 22 September 1994, aged 60.
