I love that, but what's it called?

Part 3 - from the terraces

The last time I was at Stamford Bridge, I was in the company of one of my Italian collegues, who was amused to hear Jose Mourinho's name being sung to a tune from an Italian opera.

Sounds unlikely? Well, the West Ham fans among you will have sung 'Paolo di Canio' to the same tune - indeed, I heard it being sung somewhere only the other day on Match of the Day - it's been a terrace song for as long as I can remember, since it fits any player (or manager) with six syllables in his name. I also recall a playground song which went something like 'Ta-ra-ra boomdee-ay, my knickers flew away', but maybe I'm making it up now.

And it is rather better known as?

La Donna e Mobile from Verdi's Rigoletto. Now this isn't an aria, but a canzone, or song. What's the difference? Well, an aria is a real showcase - I described it earlier as a kind of concerto for voice, while a canzone is just a song, moving the plot forward, but without the 'stop and look at me' element of the aria. 'La Donna e Mobile' is short, and to the point. The point being that women are fickle, but remember, that's Verdi's opinion, not mine.

What of the other well-known piece of Italian song - the one from the Cornetto advert?

Well, that, contrary to what you may think, isn't by Verdi, or indeed from any opera. It's just a Neapolitan song, written by (yes, I had to go and look this up) Eduardo di Capua and Giovanni Capurro. It's a fine beast, known (of course) as O Sole Mio - 'my sun', but it's not from an opera.

Oh, and it wouldn't have been sung by gondoliers, either - it's from the other end of the country altogether - a bit like expecting a Yorkshire colliery band to burst into a rousing rendition of 'Knees Up, Mother Brown'.