after nearly twenty years' engagement, he married Carolina Scognamiglio. Tramontano and de Curtis were great friends, and the mayor hired him to decorate some of the rooms of the hotel with his frescos; he also painted some canvases there, and wrote poetry and songs. Among these was the celebrated song "Torna a Surriento", supposedly born of a stay in 1902 by the prime minister of Italy, Giuseppe Zanardelli, at the hotel; Tramontano asked de Curtis and his brother, Ernesto, to write a song honoring the statesman. More recent research indicates that the song may merely have been reworked for the occasion; family papers indicate that the brothers deposited a copy with the Italian Society of Authors and Editors in 1894, eight years before they claimed to have written it. The artistic association between the de Curtis brothers bore other fruit, as well, beginning in 1897 with the publication of "'A primma vota"; it continued even after Ernesto moved to the United States in 1920, after which the two continued their collaborations by mail. Among their other songs was "Amalia", published in 1902 and dedicated to Ernesto's new wife, Amalia Russo. In 1911 the brothers had another success, the song "Lucia Lucì (I' m'arricordo 'e te)". De Curtis moved to the Vomero quarter in 1916, living in via Luca Giordano next door to the Villa Floridiana. He continued to compose, write and paint until his death in January 1926 from a progressive paralysis. Some days after his passing a letter from Ernesto reached his house. It read:Dear Giambattista, I enclose for you music for the song which you sent me last month; I hope it pleases you. References This article is based on a translation of the corresponding article in the Italian Wikipedia. 1860 births 1926 deaths 19th-century Neapolitan people Italian poets Italian male poets 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters 20th-century Italian male artists 19th-century Italian male artists