Davide Di Lernia

Davide Antonio Di Lernia was an Italian film director, producer, editor and videomaker whose career ran from radio and television into independent audiovisual production in Milan. Born in Milan on 11 November 1978, he was a son of Leone Di Lernia, the well known Apulian singer, radio personality and television presenter. Davide built his own professional identity away from the stage spotlight, working behind the camera and in post-production for some of Italy's major commercial radio brands.

He founded DDLVIDEO in 1998 as a Milan-based production house offering live coverage, reportage, music videos, documentaries, advertising spots and, in later years, projects that experimented with artificial intelligence in image and sound. Over the course of his career he worked with Radio Monte Carlo, Radio 105 Network and Virgin Radio, combining technical craft with a close knowledge of Italy's entertainment and music scenes. Colleagues and clients knew DDLVIDEO as a full-service outfit that could move from idea to finished piece, whether for a small independent brief or a larger event.

Family remained part of his public story. When Leone Di Lernia died in 2017 aged 78, Davide was among the children who spoke about their father in the days that followed. In 2024 he returned to that connection in a different way, devising a Radio 105 project that used artificial intelligence to reconstruct aspects of Leone's voice, style and image for a new Christmas song and video, framed as a tribute rather than a replacement. Friends and social posts also showed him as a father to a daughter, Sara.

On the night of 19 to 20 September 2026, after posting images from a Carl Cox DJ set at Carroponte, Di Lernia was riding a motorcycle toward central Milan on Via Mecenate when he lost control for reasons still under investigation and struck the barrier protecting the tram tracks. He was killed in the crash aged 47. Local police seized the motorcycle and placed his body at the disposal of the judicial authority. News of his death was widely reported in Italy, including by ANSA, la Repubblica, Il Messaggero and La Stampa, which remembered both his work in audiovisual production and his place in a family already familiar to Italian radio audiences.