Italian popular singer Toto Cutugno has died, Italian media report.

He was 80.

Cutugno dies after a long illness which became worse in the past weeks, his manager said.

Cutugno won the Sanremo Song Festival in 1980 with the song Solo Noi.

But his most popular song is L'Italiano, which came fifth in the same contest a few years later but remains a symbol of Italy right to this day.

Born on 7 July 1943, Cutugno took part in the Sanremo Festival 15 times, and was also part of the team that conducted Domenica In, on Rai Uno, in 1987.

Other famous songs which will remain in Italy's collective memory are "Figli", "Emozioni" and "Gli Amori".

He also won the Eurovision song contest with "Insieme: 1992". 

Cutungo held several concerts in Malta.

He was booed by a number of people attending a concert organised by the Malta Labour Party in 2007 in Freedom Square. A number of people started protesting when he announced he was going to sing the song he wrote for the EU, "Insieme: 1992". Three years before that concert, Malta had voted in favour of European Union membership, which the PL was against.

Cutugno also wrote songs for other singers, including Adriano Celentano, Ricchi e Poveri, Peppino di Capri, Fiordaliso, Franco Califano and Fausto Leali.