Vacanze Romane – 1998 – Remaster;

Roman Holiday

Authors: Giancarlo Golzi (lyrics) - Carlo Marrale (music)

Original interpreters: Matia Bazar

This is one of Matia Bazar’s most famous and successful songs. Presented at the 1983 Festival of Sanremo with vintage costumes, hairstyles and microphones, it finished in fourth place but won the Critics Award. In the midst of the post-modern wave, the piece - starting from the title taken from the 1953 film of the same name – is a clever mix of electro-pop and nostalgia, full of references to the world of operetta (Gold and Silver Waltz, The Merry Widow, Il paese dei campanelli), with motifs from the 1950s (Arrivederci Roma), places (Lungotevere, the Corso), slogans (la dolce vita) and characters (Greta Garbo) that evoke Hollywood on the Tiber in the years when the capital was the centre of entertainment and world tourism. All carried by a retro-style melody coloured by Antonella Ruggiero’s soprano, who sounds credible when evoking 1930s atmospheres in a futuristic context. The song, which had the fortune of being produced by Roberto Colombo, was the fourth best-selling single of the year.