Teorema (song)

The song was composed by Ferradini and Pagani in September 1980, in the mountain village of Macugnaga, at the base of Monte Rosa.^[1] The song's opening include a citation of Christopher Cross' "Sailing", which Ferradini intended as an hommage to the trip in the United States he made the same year.^[2] It is part of the concept EP Schiavo senza catene, which recounts a painful breakup, loosely based on the one Ferradini had recently experienced.^[1][3] Producer Alessandro Colombini was initially skeptic about the song, to the point that he tried to not include it in the tracklist.^[1]

Initially Ferradini promoted the EP with the title song "Schiavo senza catene", with whom he took part in Un disco per l'estate and Festivalbar, gathering lukewarm results.^[1] In October 1981, Ferradini was a guest in the Rai 1 show Domenica in, in which he performed a fragment of "Teorema"; since then, gradually, radio stations began playing up the track, driving EP sales and turning it into both a classic and Ferradini's signature song.^[1] In a 2025 interview, reflecting on the song's success, Ferradini said that "it solved my life".^[4]

The song was featured prominently in the Aldo, Giovanni e Giacomo's comedy film Ask Me If I'm Happy.^[2] In 1993, Mina recorded the song for the album Lochness.^[2][5] Artists who recorded the song also include Spagna, Wilma De Angelis, Fiorello and Giorgia.^[1][6]