Un'estate al mare (song)

Following the tepid reception of the Battiato-produced Russo's previous album Energie, Battiato, who was fresh from the massive success of the album La voce del padrone, decided to pen a more commercial song for Russo to push her career.^[1]

The song tells the story of a prostitute dreaming to take a break from her job to go on a vacation.^[2][3] Originally the lyrics were more sexually explicit, as they included the word "erezioni" ('erections'), later modified in "illusioni" ('illusions').^[4]

The song entered the 1982 Festivalbar, winning the Disco Verde competition.^[5] It proved to be a major hit and became Russo's signature song, even if it tied Russo to the unwanted stereotype of an easy pop songs performer;^[1][6] Russo, who was interested to a more mature and sophisticated repertoire, ended up to refuse to perform the song for years.^[1]

Paloma San Basilio covered the song in Spanish with the title "Unas vacaciones".^[5] Artists who covered the song also include Cecilia Gayle [it], Marvin, and Federica Abbate with Selton [it].^[7][8]