"Sentimento" (transl. "Feeling") is a 2000 song composed and performed byPiccola Orchestra Avion Travel. It won the50th edition of theSanremo Music Festival. Their Sanremo victory raised some controversy, as it was heavily determined by the quality jury, whose votes made the song rise from the 11th place (based on popular juries' votes) to the first place.[1]
The song has been described as "an introspective reflection represented by the sensation of timelessness one feels when at sea."[2] A patchwork of various influences, music styles and genres, the song opens with a citation of "Santa Lucia", and among other things includes references toPink Floyd,Giuseppe Verdi,Giacomo Puccini,Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky,progressive rock, Italian folk music.[1][2] Critics paired it toKurt Weill-Bertolt Brecht compositions, and toNino Rota's film scores forFederico Fellini.[1][2] Television presenterMike Bongiorno, at the time president of the festival's quality jury whose votes played a crucial role in securing the song's win, referred to it as a song which "brings together sophisticated and popular tastes".[2]