Are you going to celebrate the Valentine’s day in Naples? It’s a good decision because you can say “I love you” to your better half with a serenade singing two famous Neapolitan Love songs: ‘O Sole mio and ‘O Surdato ‘nammurato. Keep on reading to discover the very real origins of these songs and the meaning of a Neapolitan serenade.

The serenade is a romantic way to say “I love you”, but nobody knows that this custom has a superstitious meaning. In fact, the night before a wedding, in some Naples areas, the bridegroom serenades to the bride to bring good omen to the marriage.
If you are superstitious or not, you could serenade to your Valentine with O’ Sole mio or ‘O Surdato ‘nammurato. Do you know something about this two songs? Go ahead in the reading to learn some curiosities about the two most famous Neapolitan love songs and you will see how simple it can be to say "I love you" while you visit Naples.

The story of "O sole mio", the most famous Neapolitan song in the world

Nobody could imagine that, in 1898, a love dedication was going to be one of the most famous italian songs in the world. The Neapolitan journalist Giovanni Capurro wrote some love lyrics for the beautiful Donna Nina Arcoleo and it was set to music by Eduardo di Capua during a tour in Odessa.
It is said that Eduardo di Capua thought about the sun of Naples while watching the Black Sea and it was in that moment that the song ‘O Sole mio was born. The song got the second place in a Neapolitan music contest and all the world started to sing it, even Elvis Presley with It’s Now and Never.

The story of "O surdato 'nnammurato", a song about a love that is stronger than war

Another love song to celebrate a Valentine’s Day in Naples is ‘O Surdato ‘nammurato, written in 1915 by Aniello Califano. You have to listen this song once in a lifetime because is a very real love poem about a lonely soldier who wishes to be closer to his beautiful woman.

So, if you are visiting Naples in the Valentine’s Day with your better half, you could declare your love singing one of these two songs. How? Maybe, walking hand in hand in the beautiful streets of Naples, admiring the view and put on the headphones togheter listening ‘O Sole mio or ‘O Surdato
‘nnammurato to declare your love or, why not?,asking for a romantic proposal, saying “Will you marry me?”, maybe with a fabulous surprise ring in a pizza box…