"Un'estate italiana" (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, ), "To be number one" (English) or "Un verano italiano" (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

; both meaning "An Italian summer") is the official song of the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being Me ...

held in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The song was composed by

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...

with lyrics by

Tom Whitlock Thomas Ross Whitlock (Springfield, Missouri, 1954) is an American songwriter and musician, best known for his Academy Award-and Golden Globe-winning song "Take My Breath Away", from the film '' Top Gun'', which he co-wrote with Giorgio Moroder. ...

. The Italian version, also known as "Notti magiche" ("Magical nights") in Italy, was recorded by Italian artists

Edoardo Bennato Edoardo Bennato (born 23 July 1946, Naples, Campania, Italy) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is the brother of the singer-songwriter Eugenio Bennato. He is considered one of the greatest Italian rockers, a genre that he has often combined wi ...

and

Gianna Nannini Gianna Nannini (; born 14 June 1954Who Is Who
''Bello e possibile'' ...

, who also wrote the Italian lyrics. The Spanish version, also known as "Noches mágicas" in Spanish, was recorded by

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

an Susan Ferrer, who also wrote the Spanish lyrics. The song achieved success on the charts of several European countries.

Release

For the Italian release, Moroder addressed Gianna Nannini and Edoardo Bennato, who rewrote the lyrics and took the song to the top of the charts in Italy and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. From January to September 1990, the song was the best-selling single in Italy. The song was presented for the first time by the two singer-songwriters in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

in December 1989, and performed live during the opening ceremony, held on 8 June 1990, in Milan, before the Argentina–Cameroon opening match, followed later also by the English version. It describes the desire to win, and score a goal. The song was among the first to contain a single instrumental version (indicated as a karaoke version) and to be published as a maxi single.

English version

The English version, released under the name "To Be Number One", and performed by Giorgio Moroder Project (Singers:

Joe Milner Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

, Moll Anderson, Paula Mulcahy Keane)Moll Anderson Returns to 1989 With Serious Bomb Girl Style
/ref> was the opening theme to

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

TV programmes and matches related to the

Cover versions

In 1990, Hong Kong singer

Alan Tam Alan Tam Wing-lun MH (; born 23 August 1950) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. He played a major role in developing the Cantopop scene in the 1980s as he was known for singing romantic ballads with modern arrangements. From 1983 to 1987, Alan Tam ...

covered this song in Cantonese under the title "Ideals and Peace" ( yue, 理想與和平). In 2014,

The Italian Tenors The Italian Tenors consists of three Italian opera singers Mirko Provini, Sabino Gaita and Evans Tonon. The group is produced by former Warner and Polydor manager Götz Kiso in Germany. The Italian Tenors released their first album ''That's Amo ...

covered this song.

Track listings

; 7" single # "Un'estate italiana" – 4:07 # "Un'estate italiana" (karaoke version) – 4:07 ; 12" maxi # "Un'estate italiana" (stadium version) – 4:50 # "Un'estate italiana" (7" version) – 4:07 # "Un'estate italiana" (karaoke version) – 4:07 ; CD maxi # "Un'estate italiana" (stadium version) – 4:50 # "Un'estate italiana" (single version) – 4:07 # "Un'estate italiana" (karaoke version) – 4:07

Charts and sales

Peak positions

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Un'estate Italiana 1989 songs 1990 singles Edoardo Bennato songs FIFA World Cup official songs and anthems Gianna Nannini songs Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Switzerland Male–female vocal duets Songs written by Giorgio Moroder Songs written by Tom Whitlock 1990 FIFA World Cup Warner Records singles Sugar Music singles Virgin Records singles