&quotTorna a Surriento,&quot meaning &quotCome Back to Sorrento,&quot is a famous Neapolitan song composed by Ernesto De Curtis (music) and his brother, the poet and painter Giambattista De Curtis in 1894. Ernesto De Curtis (4 October 1875 – 31 December 1937) was an Italian composer. Born in Naples, the son of Giuseppe De Curtis .The song was officially copyrighted in 1905. The song is a classic example of the Neapolitan song tradition, alongside other popular pieces like &quotO sole mio&quot and &quotFuniculi funicula&quot.
Born in Naples, the son of Giuseppe De Curtis and Elisabetta Minnon, he was a great-grandson of composer Saverio. He studied piano and received a diploma from the Conservatory of San Pietro a Maiella in Naples.
Tradition holds that the origin of the song dates to 1902, when Guglielmo Tramontano, mayor of Sorrento, asked his friend Giambattista De Curtis to write the song for the Prime Minister Giuseppe Zanardelli, then vacationing at his seaside hotel, the Imperial Hotel Tramontano it was claimed that the piece was meant to celebrate Zanardelli&aposs stay.
Some claim the song is a plea to Zanardelli to keep his promise to help the impoverished city of Sorrento, which was especially in need of a sewage system. The song reflects the beauty of the city&aposs great surroundings and the love and passion of its citizens.
More recent research indicates that the song may merely have been reworked for the occasion family papers indicate that the brothers deposited a copy with the Italian Society of Authors and Editors in 1894, eight years before they claimed to have written it.
Here is an old video of me playing this song on piano:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFkrZ-K_A78&amppp=ygUWVG9ybmEgU29ycmllbnRvIFNoaWxvdg%3D%3D