Napule è

"Napule è" ('Naples is') is an Italian song composed and performed by Pino Daniele. It is considered the signature song of Daniele.

Background
The song was composed by Daniele in 1973, when he was 18 years old. Daniele initially considered to have it performed by Peppino di Capri. Along with its B-side "'Na tazzulella 'e cafè" and "Cammina Cammina", the song was a last-minute addition to his debut album Terra mia.

Recording and release
After listening to the song's audition, producers and label decided the song deserved a more rich, orchestral arrangement than the lo-fi arrangements of the other songs of the album, and the task was entrusted to Antonio Sinagra, a Naples Conservatory professor who was fresh from the arrangements for Roberto De Simone's musical La Gatta Cenerentola. Sinagra also composed the oboes and mandolins intro. Jazz musician Amedeo Tommasi played the piano, but asked to be credited as Amedeo Forte. The single was eventually chosen as leading song of the album, and premiered in a show of the private radio Capitale Eurosound. Daniele performed it in an episode of the RAI musical show Senza Rete.

Reception
The song has been described as a 'jewel [...], one of the most striking, poetic and realistic portraits of Naples', and as 'regenerating lymph for the new Neapolitan song, the manifesto of a generation's hopes and disillusions'.

Other versions
Artists who recorded the song include Mina, Luciano Pavarotti, Gino Paoli, Laura Pausini, Drupi, Teresa De Sio, Fiordaliso, Roberto Murolo, Mario Trevi.