To me autumn is tea, raindrops on the window and leaves of amazing colors. It’s the comfort in the melancholia. Consuma in un giorno più giorni – It consumes several days in a single day – like Guccini used to sing.

This collection of Italian songs is made of both songs inspired by the autumn and songs that fit this mood.

L’amore a settembre mi ha fatto sentire ancora leggera/Love in September made me still feel lighthearted. Poetry in the small things. That uneasy feeling of a new start. Cristina Dona’s voice is like a cup of tea – warm and cozy. This version of her song appears in the opening credits of the tv series Anna, based on a book by Niccolò Ammaniti.

There is a bit of Tom Waits and Nino Rota in this bittersweet valzer by Vinicio Capossela called Nella Pioggia (In the Rain). A portrait of the city in the rain inspired by Celine’s Journey at the End of the Night.

Via con Me (Come Away With Me) is probably the most famous song by Paolo Conte. It’s not a song about Autumn, but the lyrics entra e fatti un bagno caldo/c’è un accappatoio azzurro/fuori piove, è un mondo freddo (come inside and take a warm bath/there’s a light blue bathrobe/it is raining outside, it’s a cold world) always make me think of it. The song is irresistible with its mix of Italian and English and nonsense sounds together with its jazzy rhythm.

Morgan is one of the most talented and controversial Italian musicians of the last 20 years, once leader of the innovative band Bluvertigo. Altrove (Elsewhere) is an example of the many influences he is able to mix in a single song, both lyrically and sonically. For some reasons I find this song to be perfect for wandering in a park surrounded by the falling leaves.

Milan can be really foggy. In Autunno a Milano (Autumn in Milan) Piero Ciampi, the most bohemian of the Italian songwriters, writes a jazzy ballad portraying lovers in the fog, in Piazza Duomo. Sulle strade grigie/non restano che i passi/che son dolci promesse d’amor (In the gray streets/only the footsteps remain/they are sweet love promises).

Iacampo and Andrea Laszlo De Simone are an example of a generation of musicians mixing influences from the 70’s with a more contemporary sound. Both songs talk about love. Both a perfect soundtrack to the windy season.

For the younger generation share in the playlist, we have Se piovesse il tuo nome (When it Rained your Name), a duet by Elisa and Calcutta (the enfant prodige of the new it-pop) and Autunno by the rapper Anastasio.

Il cielo sanguina e si allungano le ombre/Io vivo di calore quando il giorno muore.

The sky is bleeding and the shadows are longer/ when the day dies I live on heat.