the 8 couples that make up the cast
FABIO AND ELEONORA CARESSA
Fabio is one of the most followed and loved commentators by the Italian public. He has been the voice and face of Sky since 2003. Together with his friend Beppe Bergomi, he has covered the biggest Italian and international football events of the last twenty years, including the 2006 World Cup and the recent adventure of Euro 2020. Since then he has been married to Benedetta 1999 Parodi, with whom he had three children: Matilde , Eleonora and Diego. Thanks to a bet with his son Diego, he ended up on social media in 2020 and to date has recorded very high numbers on his channels: almost 600,000 followers on Tik Tok and over 400,000 on Instagram, i.e. more than 320,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel. It is precisely thanks to social media that Fabio has been able to get closer to a much younger audience who follow him and are actively part of his fan base. He recently returned to bookstores with “Thank You, Lord, for Giving Us Football” (Sperling & Kupfer).
Eleonora is known as “Lion”, she is 19 years old and is in the first year of the Faculty of Humanities for Communication at the State University of Milan. He loves traveling and getting to know new places and people. Contrary to the passions of the Caressa family, she defines herself as incapable of any sporting activity, although she is very competitive, loves astrology and good food. But he can’t cook…
DAMIANO AND MASSIMILIANO CARRARA
Damiano, 38 years old, and Massimiliano, 36, are originally from Lucca: they are very close brothers. The first has some experience as a bartender, the second has been passionate about pastry making since he was 14. In 2012, they decided to move to California, where they opened two pastry shops, Carrara Pastries, which immediately achieved great success.
For Damiano, fame came with television: in the USA he became one of the protagonists of Food Network America, in 2015 he took part as a competitor in the first season of the Spring Baking Championship, took second place and then continued his career as a cooking show competitor continued. In fact, he competed on Food Network Star in 2016 and won third place. In 2017 he came to Italy with a wealth of experience that earned him the position of judge on BakeOff Italia and then Junior BakeOff. In 2018, Damiano is also the presenter of Cake Star and Fuori Menù together with Katia Follesa. He has two recipe books to show in America: “Dolce Italia”, “A Taste of Italy” and the autobiography “Everything is possible in life”. His first recipe book, A little sweeter, was published in Italy on September 24, 2020. Massimiliano now lives in Los Angeles, where he runs three very famous pastry shops in the city.
ARTEM AND ANTONIO OREFICE
Artem and Antonio met on the set of the Mare Fuori series: Artem plays Pino o Pazz, Antonio is Totò.
Artem was born in Ukraine in the summer of 2000, moved to Italy at the age of 10 and settled in Afragola (Naples). At the age of 19 he began his film career in the film La Paranza dei Bambini by Claudio Giovannesi, which was shown in Berlin and was awarded the Silver Bear. In 2022, he starred alongside Pierfrancesco Favino in the film Nostalgia shown in Cannes, while the following year he was the protagonist of an episode of the series Ad un step from heaven.
Antonio Orefice, 28 years old and from Naples, began studying acting at the age of 6 and at the age of 11 he made his debut with the musical Masaniello at the Bellini Theater in his city. He attended the film academy “La Ribalta” and his main works include the series Mare Fuori and Gomorrah, the films Private Soldier, Carosello Carosone, Benvenuti in casa Esposito, the theater with La paranza dei bambini, a national tour directed by Mario Gelardi and Roberto Saviano.
PAOLO CEVOLI AND ELISABETTA GARUFFI
Paolo Cevoli, 65 years old, and Elisabetta Garuffi have been married since 1986. They have two children, Giacomo and Davide, and three grandchildren.
Paolo is an Italian comedian and actor born into a family of hoteliers from Riccione. In 1990 he took part in the competition for young comedians “La Zanzara d’Oro” and took third place, and in the following months he took part in the Maurizio Costanzo show several times. In the meantime, however, he continues his “official” work, becoming an entrepreneur and opening a bar that is soon visited by various personalities from the world of entertainment, including Gino and Michele, who notice Cevoli’s talent and… In 2001 they decided to to invite him to perform at Zelig in Milan. From there he went straight to television, where he appeared for years and highlighted his most famous character: Palmiro Cangini, councilor of an imaginary municipality in Romagna. A protagonist of theater tours and author of several books, he was the director and protagonist of the film Soldier in 2015, while he took part in the third season of LOL in 2022.
Elisabetta from Rimini, 58 years old, is the fifth of six sisters. She is a fashion designer, a passion she has had since childhood, when she saw her mother Tosca, a seamstress for the “beautiful people” of Rimini, at work. After graduating from art school and gaining some professional experience, she opened her own atelier specializing in the creation and production of wedding and evening dresses, first in Rimini and then in Bologna in 1993, just a few steps from the Two Towers.
NANCY BRILLI AND PIERLUIGI IORIO
Nancy Brilli, 59 years old, from Rome, started as a film actress at a young age, but it was only when she was chosen as the protagonist of Garinei and Giovannini’s musical comedy If Time Was a Shrimp in 1986 that she decided that this would be her job. From then on, the extraordinary career of an actress began, who was able to act successfully in cinema, television and theater. She is popular with the general public also because of her tenacity and determination with which she faced the challenges of her professional and personal life. She has received numerous awards and recognitions throughout her career, including the David di Donatello and the Nastro d’Argento in 1990, both for Best Supporting Actress for Little Misunderstandings.
Pierluigi Iorio, 52 years old, from Naples, is an actor and director who develops his career mainly in theater, for which he has been passionate since childhood. He loves his family very much and represents old-fashioned values, but is also an open and practical person, curious and willing to share. He has a penchant for aesthetics and the harmony of forms, which he enthusiastically seeks in entertainment and in life. He is passionate about cooking and loves big tables with friends. His motto is “There is always the sun behind the clouds”.
Nancy and Pierluigi have been friends for 5 years, they met in 2018 during a theater performance: since then, a beautiful and sincere friendship has developed.
KRISTIAN GHEDINA AND FRANCESCA PICCININI
Two legends of Italian sport. Kristian Ghedina, born 54 years ago in Cortina d’Ampezzo, was one of the most victorious Italian downhill skiers in the Ski World Cup and one of the best specialists of his time: He inherited his passion for skiing from his mother Adriana. putting them into practice from a young age. After retiring from racing in 2006, he dedicated himself to automobile racing, competing in the Italian Superturismo Championship and the Porche Supercup. A lover of speed and adrenaline, he never stops for a moment, it is no coincidence that his favorite song is “Vita Spericolata” by Vasco Rossi.
Francesca Piccinini, 44 years old, from Massa Carrara, is one of the most famous and popular Italian volleyball players. She made her debut in Serie A in 1993, in the national team in 1995, and with the blue jersey she won the gold medal at the 1996 Mediterranean Games and the gold medal at the 2002 World Championships: for the latter success she was appointed Knight of the Italian Republic. Over the course of his long career, he also won seven Champions League and five championship titles. He announced his retirement in 2019, but the distance from the field did not last long and he returned to playing after a few months before finally retiring in 2021. However, he remained in the industry as vice-president of the last club he played for, Uyba Volley of Busto Arsizio, and since 2022 she has been the face of Sky Sport as a technical commentator.
For his sporting achievements he received the Golden Collar of Sporting Merit from CONI.
MADDALENA CORVAGLIA AND BARBARA PETRILLO
Maddalena Corvaglia and Barbara Petrillo are very good friends.
Maddalena was born in Galatina, in the province of Lecce, in 1980. She is a television presenter, blogger, radio presenter and showgirl. From 1999 to 2002 she rose to fame as a blonde showgirl on Striscia la Notistica. For three years she was the voice actress at R101 and hosted various programs on television: from Stranamore to La Domenica del Villaggio, from Scalo 76 to Bravo Grazie to Mandy and Maddy , Maddy goes fast and a voice for Padre Pio. She was married to the American guitarist Stef Burns, with whom she had a daughter, Jamie Carlyn, in 2011: their wedding was celebrated by Vasco Rossi himself. A great athlete – she is a skydiver and a motorcyclist – Maddalena enjoys great popularity on social media, where she shares these passions with her fans. He defines himself as a lover of freedom, justice and truth.
Barbara, 42 years old, from Naples, trained in classical dance and acting and made her TV debut at the age of 17. He took part in cult programs such as Paperissima, Mai dire, Carabinieri and Quelleli che il calcio. She is the mother of two little girls, Margherita and Ludovica, with former soccer player Fabiano Santacroce.
ESTEFANIA BERNAL AND ANTONELLA FIORDELISI
Estefania Bernal and Antonella Fiordelisi have been friends for years.
Estefania was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1995 and has been working as a model since she was a child. She wins the title of “Miss Universe Argentina” and takes part in the program “Dancing with the Stars”. He arrives in Italy, takes part first in Scherzi a Parte and then in Isola dei Famosi, reaching the final. Over the years she has been a testimonial for numerous brands.
Antonella is 25 years old and was born in Salerno. She is a model and fencer and has a degree in political science. On the podium, she became Italian team champion in epee in 2013, then bronze in the women’s national championship in epee and became part of the national team: with the blue jersey, she took part in various European competitions and the 2017 World Championship in Germany and Luxembourg. On television she took part in various programs, from Scherzi a parte to the last edition of Big Brother VIP, where she was one of the undisputed protagonists. He is currently a testimonial in various advertising campaigns,
an adrenaline-filled adventure, very tiring and equally exciting
This new “Pechino Express” adventure will also be full of adrenaline, very strenuous but exciting: along the “Dragon Route” the traveling couples get to know surprising worlds and far-away customs, they cover very difficult but important kilometers for solidarity Final prize will be donated to support one of the NGOs operating in the countries visited and they will build very strong bonds both within the couple and with the people they meet on their trip. The more travelers feel part of the new world they discover while traveling on the Beijing Express, the more unforgettable their experience will be.
