Salvatore Di Giacomo playlist

Salvatore Di Giacomo

Salvatore Di Giacomo became a journalist after being made to study medicine, in which he did not excel, and became well-known for his short-stories, published in the Corriere del Mattino, a Neapolitan newspaper where his literary career began and with which he collaborated for 14 years.

He was soon to come out with his first books of poetry in the Neapolitan language, preceded (in 1841) by his first songs. Two were to become his greatest successes:  Marechiaro and Era de Maggio. Within a few years he had written many other songs that became classics of the Neapolitan song. We have selected a few of these for this playlist. Di Giacomo was able to effectively use his poetic sensitivity in writing his lyrics. His writing was certainly educated but naturally popular. This element was to contribute to the extraordinary success of his lyrics, set to music by some of the most important composers of his times. He favored Mario Costa, with whom he produced over thirty songs. Di Giacomo was not only a poet and author of lyrics, but also a playwright.

His most famous plays were  Assunta Spina and ‘O mese mariano, staged many times and of which successful versions for the cinema and television were made. He spent the rest of his career as a librarian working in the libraries of his city: the library of the Conservatory of San Pietro a Maiella (where his maternal grandfather had taught), the University Library and the National Library Vittorio Emanuele III, where he became head librarian before passing away in 1934.