Federico l'Olandese Volante, Italian radio DJ, dies aged 76 in Monopoli
Frederik Matthijs Van Stegeren, known as Federico l'Olandese Volante, died on Friday 9 October at 76 in an intensive care unit in Monopoli, Puglia, where he had been hospitalised.
Death in Monopoli
Frederik Matthijs Van Stegeren, known to Italian listeners as Federico l'Olandese Volante, died on Friday 9 October at the age of 76 in Monopoli, Puglia, where he had been in intensive care. Fernando Proce, a colleague with whom he shared the microphone at RTL 102.5, announced the hospitalisation on social media hours before the death was reported. Il Giornale dates the public disclosure of the hospitalisation to 8 October. Rai News, ANSA and La Repubblica carried the news on the morning of 9 October, and RTL 102.5 confirmed the death on its channels.
From Dutch offshore radio to Radio Monte Carlo
Born on 19 April 1950 in Deventer, Netherlands, to Dutch parents, he spent much of his childhood in Italy, where his father worked in tourism (according to Corriere della Sera, he ran a hotel on Lake Garda). Fanpage reports that he began his radio work on Dutch offshore stations broadcasting from ships off the coast, which evaded national monopolies and laws against commercial radio. Repubblica dates his arrival at Radio Monte Carlo to 1972, while his own account to Corriere gives 1973, two years before Italy's first free radios. Noel Coutisson, the station's founder, proposed the English name "The Flying Dutchman", which was later translated into Italian as l'Olandese Volante.
- Born in Deventer, Netherlands
- Joins Radio Monte Carlo
- Moves to Rai Radio 2
- Joins Radio 105
- Joins RTL 102.5 to host The Flight
- Leaves Radio Norba
National networks and television
In 1977 he moved to Rai Radio 2 with the programme A tutte le radioline, and in 1978 he joined Radio 105, where he stayed for twelve years according to Fanpage. In the 1980s he presented Popcorn, a music programme on Canale 5, according to Rai News. His single Wojtyla Disco Dance, inspired by the election of Pope John Paul II, reached an international audience in 1979, as Il Giornale reports. In 1993 he joined RTL 102.5 to host The Flight with Rossella Duville, and later worked at R101 and at Radio Norba from 2015 until the end of 2024. In 2025 he hosted the podcast 50 anni a tutto rock for Radiofreccia and RTL 102.5 Play.
Final years in Tunisia
According to ANSA, he announced in December 2024 that he would move to Hammamet in Tunisia, though he did not entirely leave the radio world. Corriere della Sera reports that he had moved to Tunisia for tax reasons. In an interview given a few days before his death, which Corriere published after the announcement, he described his life there.
I am not doing badly, I lack nothing, and I have a wife I care for very much.
He also said he was running a web radio for rock fans of his generation. Carlo Conti and Linus also paid tribute, according to ANSA.
Tributes
RTL 102.5 published a message on its social channels that described his long association with the station.
Federico dedicated his whole life to radio entertainment, sharing with us in the RTL 102.5 group many years of live broadcasts and music.
The station's message recalled the time he spent on air with its team, and Il Giornale reports that the broadcaster described him as one of the most recognisable voices on the airwaves.
