Raffaella Carrà and Alessandra De Stefano met in Rome, at a supermarket. "While I was shopping - Alessandra recalls - someone called me, I answered and then hung up. Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpse a lady - she's facing away and wearing a hat. She says to me: 'I know this voice!'. Perhaps I widen my eyes, and definitely say: 'No, I know this voice! I've had a Maga Maghella doll at home forever!'".

Raffaella Carrà and Alessandra De Stefano: actress, singer, dancer, showgirl, presenter, Raffaella; journalist, becoming RaiSport director, now Paris correspondent, Alessandra. This is one of the eleven chapters in "Friends", stories of bonds and sisterhood (from Grazia Deledda to Maria Montessori, from Sibilla Aleramo to Gae Aulenti, from Rossana Rossanda to Luciana Castellina), written by nine authors (il Mulino, 188 pages, 16 euros), and Francesca Sancin writes about Raffaella and Alessandra. "I watch you every day because I love cycling", Raffaella confides, "I adore you, you're a force of nature, you're immediate, televisual", Raffaella explains, "Let's meet soon, come visit me", she adds. And Alessandra can hardly believe such admiration, such attention, such affection.

A brief but true, strong, instinctive friendship. "It was 2018" - Alessandra recalls. "Before saying goodbye, she gave me a phone number, saying it was her handyman's". But no. "I later discovered that number was actually hers. We started talking, texting. Then I was lucky enough to visit her. My husband and I spent a weekend at her place in Tuscany. Carefree days". Only weakness: Alessandra (and Philippe) can't play burraco, and Raffaella scolds her. Otherwise, they'd chat at a table near Ponte Milvio. "She had to put on her hat - " says Alessandra - "dress up, pull up her jacket collar. She told me her obsession was people pulling her hair to see if it was a wig".

Raffaella from Bologna, Alessandra from Naples. Raffaella passionate about cycling, a Saronni fan, then Di Luca, Alessandra open to everything, from cinema to music. Sympathy becomes friendship, curiosity transforms into respect. The 23-year age difference, Raffaella from 1943, Alessandra from 1966, is not an obstacle. Raffaella shows maternal care, even in a voice message: "Dear Alessandra, you seem a bit troubled...", "Stay warm, stay warm!", "Have you eaten?". Alessandra seeks advice when planning the program "The Olympic Circle" with Sara Simeoni and Yuri Chechi, and it's Raffaella who suggests she approach the RAI CEO and propose "let me do two episodes and if it goes badly, cut me". Far from being cut: an average of two million viewers per night, a steady 10 percent share, a great success.

Raffaella won't get to see Alessandra's show: she dies on July 5, 2021, 18 days before the Tokyo Olympics and her television debut. She would have been thrilled.