On the morning of 1 March 2012, three days before his 69th birthday, Dalla died of a heart attack, shortly after having breakfast at the hotel where he was staying in Montreux, Switzerland, having performed in the city the night before.
He was in the company of Marco Alemanno when he died.
An estimated 50,000 people attended his funeral in Bologna.

Dalla's 1986 song "Caruso", dedicated to Italian tenor Enrico Caruso, entered the Italian Singles Chart after his creator's death, peaking at number two for two consecutive weeks.
The single was also certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.
On the morning of 1 March 2012, three days before his 69th birthday, Dalla died of a heart attack, shortly after having breakfast at the hotel where he was staying in Montreux, Switzerland, having performed in the city the night before. He was in the company of Marco Alemanno when he died. An estimated 50,000 people attended his funeral in Bologna.
Dalla's 1986 song "Caruso", dedicated to Italian tenor Enrico Caruso, entered the Italian Singles Chart after his creator's death, peaking at number two for two consecutive weeks. The single was also certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.
Lucio Dalla