CATERINA TAKES THE STAGE! REMEMBER ‘AEROPLANO’?

Some songs feel as though you left them on an old cassette. Then they reappear, and the question arrives before the chorus: whose voice was that? With Aeroplano, the name to rediscover is Caterina Rappoccio. A young woman who sang with Max Pezzali and now returns to a much-loved story: the story of 883.

She comes back into the spotlight in the fourth episode of Nord Sud Ovest Est – La leggendaria storia degli 883, available from 23 October on Sky and NOW in Italy. Caterina is played by Rosa Barbolini. Behind that character, though, is a real singer: getting to know her means paying attention to both the series and the archive footage.

An evening in 1994: Max, Mauro and a young singer at the microphone

There is a precise date to start with: 15 January 1994. Red Ronnie recalls it in the description of his interview with Caterina, published on his channel on 9 April 2025. That day she came to Roxy Bar with 883: she sang Aeroplano with Max Pezzali and L’uomo ragno with the duo.

According to the presenter’s account, Caterina was fifteen. He also describes that evening as the duo’s final appearance on his programme before Mauro Repetto’s departure. It is a memory that brings the people back into focus: a song title, certainly, but also a very young performer beside two musicians in the middle of their adventure.

The video is compelling because it brings those different moments together. Red Ronnie shows Caterina the old footage and gives her room in the present. We do not need to invent what she thinks as she watches: we can listen to her words and see her reaction.

Caterina today: beyond the memory of Aeroplano

One detail deserves attention: that encounter is about more than Aeroplano. In the description, Red Ronnie explains that the singer had sent him some music videos and that he invited her to Nuovo Roxy Bar. Caterina also performed Neve al sole, Lo schiavo perfetto and Ancora there.

Those three titles change the question from ‘What happened to her?’ to ‘What is she singing?’ Recognising a voice from the Nineties can be the beginning of listening, rather than the point at which we stop. On her own YouTube channel, Rappoccio introduces herself as the Caterina of Aeroplano and identifies it as her official channel.

Rosa Barbolini plays Caterina. They are two different people

In the Nord Sud Ovest Est cast, Rosa Barbolini’s name appears alongside Caterina. Elia Nuzzolo and Matteo Oscar Giuggioli play Max and Mauro. The new season of Sydney Sibilia’s series follows 1993 and the journey towards the Pavia duo’s second album.

Discussing the role on 24 October, Barbolini says her research included the 1994 Roxy Bar performance. She explains that she studied the real Caterina before developing the more rock-oriented character envisaged by the script. She also makes clear that she had not had the opportunity to speak directly with the singer.

A series can spark curiosity about the people behind its characters. We can enjoy the story and then seek out their own voices and memories, discovering what took a different shape on screen.

883: when success moves faster than you do

In the fourth episode, directed by Simone Godano, Max and Mauro are also dealing with the music videos for Rotta per casa di Dio and Sei un mito. Sky’s official presentation places Caterina’s arrival within this moment: the songs are taking shape, success is growing and the characters have to work out their place in it.

That perspective makes the story interesting even for people who did not live through those years. Reaching the place you wanted does not automatically settle every doubt. You can finally have an opportunity and still wonder how to make it your own, who to share it with and who you want to become.

Watching this story, some of the most rewarding curiosity may concern the voices that emerge alongside the main characters. Caterina offers another way in: a familiar song, a performance to revisit and a musical journey to hear beyond the memory.

Where to watch the series

Nord Sud Ovest Est – La leggendaria storia degli 883 is available exclusively on Sky and streaming on NOW in Italy. The fourth episode was released on 23 October 2026. The video embedded here is Red Ronnie’s 2025 interview, not an episode of the series.

First the memory. Then perhaps a song you did not know

You can start with the episode, look up Aeroplano and revisit that stage. Then let the video continue when the conversation turns to less familiar songs. It is a small shift in attention: curiosity about the girl she was becomes space for the musician who kept singing.

Nostalgia can give us this gift: returning us to a voice. What comes next begins when we give that voice time to tell us something we did not already remember.

Watch Caterina at Roxy Bar: past and present meet