Italian singer Toto Coutunio, famous at home and abroad for his song “Un Italiano vero” and his Eurovision win in 1990 with “Insieme: 1992”, died today aged 80 in Milan, his manager announced of.

“After a long illness, the singer’s health had deteriorated in recent months,” Danilo Mancuso, quoted by the Ansa news agency, said. “Farewell Toto Coutunio, a true Italian,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni immediately wrote in response to the news of his death with a message on the X platform (formerly Twitter).

His biggest hit was in 1983: The song “Un Italiano vero” (or simply “L’italiano”) became No. 1 on the charts in Italy and Switzerland, and No. 2 in France. The song also captivated audiences in Israel, Iran and South Korea.

The chorus of this timeless hit is still a hit on the radio: “Lasciatemi cantare con la chitarra in mano, lasciatemi cantare, sono un italiano” (Let me sing with the guitar in my hand, let me sing, I’m an Italian).

The music video for the song was shot on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. It features a series of rather typical stereotypes about Italy and Italians, with the singer eating pasta and flirting with the waitress.

In 1990 Coutunio won Eurovision with “Insieme: 1992”, a song about Europe. After Gigliola Cinqueti in 1964, he became the second representative of Italy in the European song contest to win the first place. The following year, together with Cinqueti, he presented the program of the competition hosted in Rome.

Salvatore Coutunio, known as Toto Coutunio, was born on July 7, 1943. He composed pieces for many French singers, especially in the 1970s: for Michel Sardou (“En chantant”), Mireille Mathieu, Gérard Lenormand, Joe Dassin, Jonny Halliday, Herve Villar and Sheila.

The composer and performer had also participated 15 times in the Sanremo festival, watched by millions of TV viewers every year.