O sole mio

O sole mio was written in 1898, with words by the Neapolitan journalist Giovanni Capurro and music credited to Eduardo di Capua, who composed it while travelling in Odessa. The two sold the rights outright for a few lire and neither profited from what followed. In 2002 a court in Turin ruled that Alfredo Mazzucchi, a musician who had sold Di Capua a batch of melodies in 1897, was a co-author; his heirs were recognised, which meant the song stayed in copyright in Europe far longer than anyone had expected.