Premiata Forneria Marconi — PFM — are the great flagship of Italian progressive rock: the most famous and successful band the scene produced, and the first to break through internationally. From Milan, fusing rock with classical music, folk and a Mediterranean warmth all their own, they made a run of albums in the 1970s that defined the “Italian prog” sound and carried it, uniquely, onto the British and American charts.

The short version

Formed in Milan in 1970 out of the seasoned session players of I Quelli, PFM created a sophisticated, symphonic Italian prog built on flute, violin, Mellotron and guitar. Their first two albums, “Storia di un Minuto” and “Per un Amico” (both 1972), made them the biggest band in Italy; then, signed to ELP’s Manticore label and produced by King Crimson’s Pete Sinfield, they became the only Italian rock band to find real success abroad, touring the US and reaching the Billboard charts. Across eight classic albums they remain the defining group of RPI.

Milan, 1970: from I Quelli to PFM

PFM’s members were already among Italy’s most accomplished musicians, having spent the 1960s backing stars like Battisti, Mina and Celentano before forming the beat group I Quelli in 1968. In 1970, the core of I Quelli — guitarist Franco Mussida, keyboardist Flavio Premoli, bassist Giorgio Piazza and drummer Franz Di Cioccio — joined forces with multi-instrumentalist Mauro Pagani, and Premiata Forneria Marconi was born, taking its unforgettable name from the bakery in whose basement they rehearsed. In 1971 they opened for Yes in Milan, supported Procol Harum and Deep Purple on tour, and won the first Viareggio avant-garde festival; their debut single “Impressioni di Settembre”, with its famous synthesizer riff, became a classic of Italian music.

Symphonic Italian prog

PFM brought a rare sophistication to Italian rock. Around the core of a rock band they wove classical and baroque textures, folk melody and a warm Mediterranean colour, with Mauro Pagani’s flute and violin and Flavio Premoli’s Mellotron and keyboards as defining voices alongside Franco Mussida’s guitar. Inspired by Genesis, King Crimson, Yes and ELP but never merely imitative, they perfected a distinctive “Italian prog” sound that countless others would follow. If the band had a weakness, it was the long-noted lack of a dedicated lead singer — a gap they would later fill by recruiting Bernardo Lanzetti of Acqua Fragile.

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Storia di un Minuto, Per un Amico and the world

PFM’s debut, “Storia di un Minuto” (1972), was a landmark — the first album by an Italian group to reach number one at home, and still among the very finest records the scene produced. Later that year came “Per un Amico” (1972), more complex and elaborate still, a peak of symphonic Italian prog. Their fortunes changed when Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer heard them in Rome and brought them to London: signed to ELP’s Manticore label, their name shortened to the more pronounceable PFM, they recorded “Photos of Ghosts” (1973) with English lyrics by King Crimson’s Pete Sinfield. It broke into the British and American charts — a first for an Italian band — and a triumphant appearance at the Reading Festival sealed their international arrival. In 1974, with new bassist Patrick Djivas (from Area) replacing Giorgio Piazza, they released the fourth album in both an Italian version, “L’Isola di Niente”, and an English one, “The World Became the World”, and toured the United States to real acclaim. The albums that followed — “Chocolate Kings” (1975), with new singer Bernardo Lanzetti, then “Jet Lag” (1977) and “Passpartù” (1978) — saw the band moving through rock, funk and jazz-rock as the prog era waned.

Album by album

Eight albums from the band that took Italian prog to the world. Tap any title for its guide.

The players and afterwards

The classic PFM were Franz Di Cioccio, Franco Mussida, Flavio Premoli and Mauro Pagani, with Giorgio Piazza and then Patrick Djivas on bass and, from 1975, Bernardo Lanzetti on lead vocals. Pagani left in 1977 to a distinguished solo and composing career, but PFM never broke up: they have continued for decades, through the celebrated 1979 tour with their friend Fabrizio De André, countless reunions and new albums, right up to the present. The first Italian rock band to conquer foreign stages, they have been honoured ever since as one of the genuine greats — and it all rests on that extraordinary 1970s run.

Where to start

Begin at the beginning, with “Storia di un Minuto” (1972) — the album that started it all and a perfect introduction to their world. From there, “Per un Amico” (1972) shows the band at their most ambitious, while “Photos of Ghosts” (1973) is the record that carried them abroad. Together they make the ideal entry point to Italy’s greatest prog band.

Why they still matter

PFM matter more than any other band in Italian prog — as the group who gave the scene its definitive sound and then did what no other Italian rock band managed, breaking through to international audiences on their own terms. Their fusion of rock, classical and Mediterranean folk set a template that shaped a whole genre, and their finest albums remain touchstones decades on. For anyone discovering Italian progressive rock, there is no better place to begin, and no band more essential.

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