Testo (Lyrics)
Il testo completo di «Stella, Stellina» con traduzione in inglese.
Stella, stellina, la notte si avvicina; la fiamma traballa, la mucca è nella stalla. La mucca e il vitello, la pecora e l'agnello, la chioccia coi pulcini, la mamma coi bambini. Tutti fanno la nanna nella braccia della mamma.
#English translation
Star, little star, the night is drawing near; the flame flickers, the cow is in the barn. The cow and the calf, the sheep and the lamb, the hen with her chicks, the mother with her children. They all go to sleep in their mother's arms.
#Stella, Stellina at a glance
- Country of origin
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- Sung in
- Italian
- Words by
- Lina Schwarz
- First known
- written by Lina Schwarz (1876–1947)
- Best for ages
- 2–7
- Mood
- lullaby
- Last updated
- 25 July 2026
Meaning and origin
This is one of Italy’s best-loved lullabies, and its method is simply to gather everything in for the night. As darkness comes and the lamp-flame wavers, the song moves calmly through the farm — the cow with her calf, the sheep with her lamb, the hen with her chicks — until it arrives where it was always heading: the mother with her children, all of them falling asleep in her arms. Each pairing is a small promise that no one is left out in the dark.
For a long time it was assumed to be an old anonymous folk song, but it has an author: the Italian poet and translator Lina Schwarz (1876–1947), known warmly as zia Lina, “Auntie Lina”, who published it among her poems for children. It was later set to music in many versions and passed so thoroughly into common memory that its origin was quietly forgotten — the surest sign that a written poem has become a true lullaby. Its gift is its logic: if the calf, the lamb and the chick are all safe beside their mothers, then so, the child concludes, am I.
Common questions
- What does "Stella, stellina" say?
- As the night draws near and the lamp-flame flickers, everything is going to rest: the cow is in the barn with her calf, the sheep with her lamb, the hen with her chicks — and the mother with her children, who all fall asleep in her arms. It gathers the whole farmyard into one image of safety and sleep.
- Who wrote "Stella, Stellina"?
- The Italian poet and translator Lina Schwarz (Verona 1876 – Arcisate 1947), affectionately known as "zia Lina" (Auntie Lina). It appeared in her book of poems and, though often called "traditional", it is her work.
- Why is "Stella, Stellina" so well known?
- Because it became one of Italy's classic lullabies, set to music in many versions and passed down so widely that people forgot it had an author. Its rocking rhythm and warm, rural images make it a natural cradle song.
