Vincenzo Russo...pure soul, almost illiterate, he composed some of the most beautiful Neapolitan songs "Io te vurria vasà", "Torna Maggio" and the marvellous "Maria Marì".

He, as a young glove-worker, used to work in a narrow shop between miasmas of dressed hide; every now and then he lifted his eyes towards a little balcony at the first floor where a young girl named Maria appeared. Vincenzo gazed at her and sighed...Ah Maria...Marì!

The musician Di Capua, author of "O´sole mio", was impressed by the lyrics of the young poet. 

That´s how Maria Marì came out!