Singer songwriter Toto Cutugno, best known for his worldwide 1983 hit song, "L'Italiano", died at the age of 80 on Tuesday, his manger Danilo Mancuso told ANSA. 

Cutugno, whose birth name was Salvatore, died in Milan's San Raffaele Hospital "after a long illness, which had become more serious in the last few months", said Mancuso. 

Cutugno was one of the most popular Italian performers on a global scale, the winner of the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest with his song “Insieme: 1992”.

He was also one of the most successful Italian songwriters of all time, having written for artists such as Dalida, Adriano Celentano and Domenico Modugno. Cotugno was considered a veritable ambassador of Italian music in the world, especially in countries such as Romania, Spain, Turkey, Germany and Russia. His song “L’Italiano”, released in 1983, has been translated into many languages and is considered a symbol of Italian culture and identity.

Toto Cutugno participated in the Sanremo Music Festival fifteen times, but he only won once, in 1980, with the song “Solo noi”. He also came second six times, with songs such as “Serenata”, “Figli”, “Emozioni” and “Le mamme”. He is often nicknamed the “eternal second” of Sanremo, a living embodiment of the adage, “always a bridesmaid, never a bride,” but he always took the teasing with irony and grace.

(Source: ANSA)