"Roman holidays") is a 1983 single composed by Aldo Stellita (lyrics, even if credited to Giancarlo Golzi)[1] and Carlo Marrale (music) and performed by Matia Bazar.
[3] The band, which in 1981 had undergone the first line-up change in its history with the departure of Piero Cassano and the entry of Mauro Sabbione, starting from the 1982 album ...Berlino ...Parigi ...Londra had turned its style towards a decidedly electro-pop sound, with tepid reception from critics and public alike.
[1] Eager for a relaunch, they decided to participate in the Sanremo Music Festival (already won by the band in 1978), but their first choice, "Palestina" ("Palestine"), was rejected on political grounds.
[1] They then opted for "Vacanze romane", a song characterized by the meeting of apparently antithetical sound elements, i.e. the classical melody and the retro feel given by Antonella Ruggiero's vocal performance versus the electronic arrangements.
[2][3] Starting from its title (a reference to the 1953 William Wyler's film Roman Holiday) the song is a melancholic hommage to Rome, from the point of view of the unmatched splendour it had reached and that had lost through the time.