Italians simply can NOT stand the sound of music unaccompanied by lyrics for more than maybe ten seconds. They start thinking about things and asking questions and nothing makes an Italian more uncomfortable than that.
I like the lengths they went to ensure that the audience knew they were watching Batman (Baaaaaaaaaatmaaaaaaaaan! Baaaaaaaaaaaatmaaaaaaaaaaaaan!). I would've been lost without the repeated aural cues, really.
That's the norm for Italian tv. They love cartoons, and the themes last for a million years. Early morning staring at the screen wondering why the theme song to a Little Rosie rerun was refusing to end, afternoon at the Medici gallery. Italy kicks ass.