It was written by Bruno De Filippi, at the time a member of the group I Campioni, and Franco Migliacci.

[3] The song became the first major hit for the singer,[3] reaching number three in the Italian chart, and its sales exceeded 200,000 copies.

[5] Mina also recorded a French version called "Un petit clair de lune".

[6] "Tintarella di luna" was also performed in the 1960 musicarello titled Howlers in the Dock, in which Mina played herself.

The song has been covered in Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese (as "Banho de Lua") and Japanese (as 月影のナポリ/"Tsukikage no Napori"), by a number of artists, including Dalida, Celly Campello, Bob Azzam, Os Mutantes, The Peanuts, W, Gloria Christian, Ivan Cattaneo, and Jenny Luna.