Born in Rome , after the diploma in surveying Castelnuovo studied French literature at the university , specializing in Provençal and Troubadour aesthetics . In the same period he starded to play guitar and to attend the Folkstudio , a well-known Roman musical club . He started composing his first songs in the late 1970s , when was noted by singer-songwriter Amedeo Minghi , who started producing him and also earned him a contract with the label It . Castelnuovo made his record debut with " Oceania " , a single which won a selection organized by '' Domenica in '' that put up for grabs a place in the 32nd edition of the Sanremo Music Festival . He entered the competition with the song " Sette fili di canapa " , the title track of his debut album , reaching the finals and getting large critical acclaim as well as some commercial success . Castelnuovo 's major hit was " Nina " , a song which tells the story of his parents during the wartime ; the song premiered at the 34th edition of the Sanremo Music Festival , placing sixth and subsequently peaking 10th on the Italian hit parade . In the following years Castelnuovo gradually moved away from the spotlight , still keeping to record critically acclaimed works
32nd edition
Sanremo Music Festival 1982
Mario Castelnuovo