Il Canto degli Italiani
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Il Canto degli Italiani (The Song of the Italians) is the Italian national anthem. It is best known among Italians as L'inno di Mameli (Mameli's Hymn) and sometimes referred to as Fratelli d'Italia, from its incipit.
The words were written in the autumn of 1847 in Genoa, by the then 20-year-old student and patriot Goffredo Mameli (two years before his death), in a climate of popular struggle for unification and independence of Italy which foreshadowed the war against Austria.
Two months later, they were set to music in Turin by another Genoese, Michele Novaro. The hymn enjoyed widespread popularity throughout the period of the Risorgimento (Resurgence) – and in the following decades.
After unification (1861) the adopted national anthem was the Marcia Reale (or Fanfara Reale), official hymn of the royal house of Savoy composed in 1831 to order of Carlo Alberto di Savoia. The Marcia Reale remained the Italian national anthem until the birth of the republic.
It was not by chance, however, that Giuseppe Verdi, in his Inno delle Nazioni (Hymn of the Nations), composed for the London Internation Exhibition of 1862, chose Il Canto degli Italiani – and not the Marcia Reale – to represent Italy, putting it beside God Save the Queen and the Marseillaise.
From 1922 to 1943, the fascist period, each public performance of the Marcia Reale was followed by the hymn of the Partito Nazionale Fascista, entitled Giovinezza.
On October 12 1946, Italy became a republic, and Il Canto degli Italiani was, provisionally, chosen as the country's new national anthem. This choice was officialized in law only on November 17th, 2005, almost 60 years later.
History
The first manuscript of the poem [link], preserved at the Istituto Mazziniano in Genoa, appears in a personal copybook of the poet, where he collected notes, thoughts and other writings. Of uncertain dating, the manuscript reveals anxiety and inspiration at the same time. The poet begins with E' sorta dal feretro (It's risen from the bier) then seems to change his mind: leaves some room, begins a new paragraph and writes "Evviva l'Italia, l'Italia s'è desta" (Hurray Italy, Italy has awakened). Handwriting appears nervy and frenetic, with the numerous typos, among which "Ilia" for "Italia" and "Ballilla" for "Balilla".The last strophe is deleted by the author, to the point of being barely readable. It was dedicated to Italian women:
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The second manuscript is the copy that Mameli sent to Novaro for setting it to music. It shows a much steadier handwriting, fixes misspellings and has a significant modification: the incipit is "Fratelli d'Italia". This copy is in Museo del Risorgimento in Turin.
The hymn was also printed on leaflets in Genoa, by the printing office Casamara. The Istituto Mazziniano has a copy of these, with hand annotations by Mameli himself. This sheet, subsequent to the two manuscripts, lacks the last strophe ("Son giunchi che piegano...") for fear of censorship. These leaflets were to be distributed on the December 10 demonstration, in Genoa.
December 10, 1847 was a historical day for Italy: the demonstration was officially dedicated to the 101st anniversary of the popular rebellion which led to the expulsion of the Austrian powers from the city; in fact it was an excuse to protest against foreign occupations in Italy and induce Carlo Alberto to embrace the Italian cause of liberty. In this occasion the tricolor flag was shown and the Mameli's hymn was publicly sung for the first time.
After December 10 the hymn spread all over the Italian peninsula, brought by the same patriots that participated to the Genoa demonstration.
Lyrics
This is the complete text of the original poem written by Goffredo Mameli; however the Italian anthem, as performed in every official occasion, is composed by the first part and the chorus, repeated twice, then ends with a loud "Sì!" ("Yes!"). The rest of the poem refers to relevant episodes of the Italian struggle for unification and independence.
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Controversy
The desirability or otherwise of replacing Fratelli d'Italia with a different anthem has been discussed on several occasions in Italy, since the 1990s. The music of Fratelli d'Italia is viewed by some (both laymen and experts) as poor, especially when compared with the renowned Italian classical music tradition (for example, Giuseppe Verdi or Giacomo Puccini). And the lyrics, far from being universal, refer to some very specific episodes in Italian history which, while they were well known to all in the 19th century, are almost meaningless now. Nevertheless, Fratelli d'Italia is well known worldwide and immediately recognizable to everyone in Italy, and it is difficult to believe that Italians will allow it to be replaced without a fierce debate.Audio
Listen to the audio file (~2 Megs download):- [Fratelli D'Italia] ([file info])
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- * Problems listening to the file? See [Media helpmedia help].
External links
- [From Quirinale, residence of the Head of State, lyrics and various performances]
(in Italian - to listen music click on "ascolta l'inno", just before the lyrics) - [MP3 file without vocals]
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