Ricchi E Poveri – Piccolo amore

The TV Theme That Turned A “Little Love” Into A Big Deal

In 1982, Ricchi e Poveri were already living their “trio era” peak—then “Piccolo amore” arrived and made their sweetness feel sharper, smarter, and strangely grown-up. Released as the first single from Mamma Maria, it didn’t need melodrama to hit hard. The twist? A song about a “small” love became the goodbye music for one of Italy’s biggest TV shows, slipping into living rooms every week as the closing theme to Portobello.

On the charts, “Piccolo amore” played like a quiet takeover. It pushed into the Italian Top 10 (peaking at No.8), then crossed borders with real momentum: No.10 in Switzerland, No.16 in Austria, and No.24 in Germany. That matters because it wasn’t chasing a single scene—it was working in multiple countries at once, the kind of pan-European run that turns a hit into a calling card.

The writing team was the band’s secret weapon: Cristiano Minellono and Dario Farina, specialists in making simple words feel like something you’ve lived. The lyric frames love as “little” because it’s new—tiny daily moments, first excitement, the feeling of being slightly ridiculous and not caring. And here’s a deep-cut detail fans miss: it wasn’t even the first time Ricchi e Poveri were chosen to close Portobello—the year before, “Come vorrei” had done the same job.

The recording story adds another layer: sessions split between Union Studios in Munich and Bach Studio in Milan, like the song had one foot in sleek European pop and the other in home-town warmth. Gian Piero Reverberi handled the arrangements and musical direction, keeping everything crisp while leaving space for the group’s blend to do the heavy lifting. It’s glossy, but never cold—more postcard than spotlight.

In the bigger arc of Mamma Maria, “Piccolo amore” is the table-setter. It opened the door before the title track took its own turn in the spotlight, and it helped define that early-’80s Ricchi e Poveri balance: bright melodies, real heart, and hooks that didn’t need to shout. Even the single’s world-travel hints at the ambition—different countries saw different pairings on the flip, depending on what would connect fastest.

Its afterlife is proof it wasn’t a one-season wonder. The band revisited “Piccolo amore” in later “best of” moments (notably in the mid-’90s and again decades later), treating it like a keeper rather than a nostalgia throw-in. It’s also tied to the era’s TV-and-pop pipeline, where a song could become part of your week, not just your playlist.

Verdict: “Piccolo amore” is top-shelf Ricchi e Poveri—an 8.5/10 gem that shows how powerful understatement can be. It’s not their loudest song, but it might be one of their most human. The kind of track that proves “little” is sometimes just another word for “true.”