Neapolitan Postcards gathers a diverse group of international scholars to investigate unexplored transnational aspects of the intimate yet globally popular canzone napoletana. Performed and beloved worldwide in almost every language, the style had hits such as "Funiculì funiculà" (1880) and "'O sole mio" (1898) which sold millions of copies. These hits fueled the tradition's spread across the world over the course of the twentieth century with the eventual popularity of covers by singers and musicians of all music genres and styles, from popular music to opera and jazz.This book is the first scholarly work that considers the specific complexities of the international Neapolitan Song scenes through case studies from Argentina, England, Greece, and the United States, employing analyses of compositions, iconographical sources, international films, mechanical musical instruments, performances, and recordings devoted to the canzone napoletana.

Foreword: Neapolitan PostcardsMartin StokesChapter 1: Echoes of NaplesGoffredo PlastinoChapter 2: A Mediterranean Triangle: Naples, Smyrna, AthensFranco FabbriChapter 3: The Neapolitan Sound Goes Around: Mechanical Music Instruments, Talking Machines, and Neapolitan Song (1850-1925)Anita PesceChapter 4: The Folk Within: On Some Neapolitan Productions in Early Twentieth-CenturyItalian-American RecordsGiuliana FugazzottoChapter 5: New York City Neapolitan Music from the Calandra Institute's Mark Pezzano CollectionRosangela Briscese and Joseph SciorraChapter 6: You Can Go Home Again, and Again: Santa Lucia Luntana, the FilmGiorgio BertelliniChapter 7: Diasporic Musings on Veracity and Uncertainties of "Core 'ngrato"Joseph SciorraChapter 8: Napoli in Buenos Aires: From Canzonetta to Tango CanciónAna CaraChapter 9: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Transatlantic Stereotypes 1880s-1950sPaolo PratoChapter 10: Blues in the Bay: The Bluesology of James Senese and RaizAlessandro Buffa and Iain ChambersAfterword:Neapolitan Postcards and Metaphorical Materiality: Ontologies of IntimacyPhilip V. Bohlman