ABSTRACT
Renato Carosone's song became a hit in Italy despite its strict Neapolitan dialect. Sophia Loren sang and danced its English translation in front of Clark Gable in the American movie It Started in Naples (1960) and contributed to its enduring international success. This fortune is surely related to the topical issue of the song. Can different cultural models blend or is their amalgamation an unnatural phenomenon? The person described in the song is less of a versatile cosmopolitan and more of a cultural Harlequin. Is this the unavoidable destiny of all those trying to bridge cultural terrains?
