In Disney’s The Lady and the Tramp, “Bella Notte” is the Italian phrase sung during the restaurant spaghetti scene.
The song accompanies the film’s best-known romantic sequence, in which the refined cocker spaniel Lady and the stray dog Tramp share a plate of spaghetti outside Tony’s restaurant. As the dogs accidentally draw closer while eating the same strand, the scene becomes a gentle musical expression of romance.
“Bella Notte” means “beautiful night” in Italian. Peggy Lee and Sonny Burke wrote the song for the 1955 film, and the restaurant owner Tony sings it with his chef, Joe. The title is sometimes confused with the restaurant’s name or with a generic Italian greeting, but “Bella Notte” is the song’s specific title and recurring phrase.