ITALIAN LYRCIS

Fratelli d'Italia
L'Italia s'è desta,
Dell'elmo di Scipio
S'è cinta la testa.
Dov'è la Vittoria?
Le porga la chioma,
Ché schiava di Roma
Iddio la creò. 

Stringiamci a coorte
Siam pronti alla morte
L'Italia chiamò.

Noi siamo da secoli
Calpesti, derisi,
Perché non siam popolo,
Perché siam divisi.
Raccolgaci un'unica
Bandiera, una speme:
Di fonderci insieme
Già l'ora suonò. 

Stringiamci a coorte
Siam pronti alla morte
L'Italia chiamò.

Uniamoci, amiamoci,
l'Unione, e l'amore
Rivelano ai Popoli
Le vie del Signore;
Giuriamo far libero
Il suolo natìo:
Uniti per Dio
Chi vincer ci può? 

Stringiamci a coorte
Siam pronti alla morte
L'Italia chiamò.

Dall'Alpi a Sicilia
Dovunque è Legnano,
Ogn'uom di Ferruccio
Ha il core, ha la mano,
I bimbi d'Italia
Si chiaman Balilla,
Il suon d'ogni squilla
I Vespri suonò. 

Stringiamci a coorte
Siam pronti alla morte
L'Italia chiamò.

Son giunchi che piegano
Le spade vendute:
Già l'Aquila d'Austria
Le penne ha perdute.
Il sangue d'Italia,
Il sangue Polacco,
Bevé, col cosacco,
Ma il cor le bruciò. 

Stringiamci a coorte
Siam pronti alla morte
L'Italia chiamò
---
ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Italian Brothers,
Italy has awakened,
She has wreathed her head
With the helmet of Scipio.

Where is Victory?
She bows her head to you,
You, whom God created
As the slave of Rome.*

Let us band together,
We are ready to die,
We are ready to die,
Italy has called us.

*[this is to mean that Victory is the slave of Rome who should bow her head to Italy, not that Italy is the slave of Rome]

-------------------------

Italy
"Il Canto degli Italiani" (The Song of the Italians)

Words by:Goffredo Mameli
Music by:Michele Novaro
Adopted:1947

The anthem was written in 1847, the lyrics by Goffredo Mameli, a young poet. As
such, the song is often known as L'Inno di Mameli (Mameli's Hymn). Beginning in
1861, when Italy became a united nation, the song was known as the "March of
the House of Savoy" and it became the official Anthem in 1947 when Italy
finally was proclaimed a Republic.

There are different versions of how Mameli actually came to write the anthem.
One reports that Mameli took the anthem to the musician Michele Novaro a
friend, who lived in Turin. Novaro composed the music, and Mameli returned to
Genoa where he presented words and music to his friends. Shortly thereafter,
"Fratelli D'Italia" (Brothers of Italy, another common name for the anthem) was
played for the first time, at a popular assembly. The tune gained popularity
throughout the peninsula, in defiance of the Austrian, Bourbon and Papal
police.

The other and equally persuasive story goes that one evening in 1847, in the
house of the American consul, the center of discussion was the uprisings of the
day. Urged by many of the consul's guests, Mameli improvised a few lines on the
spot and later wrote the rest. A few days later a friend took the poem to Turin
and read it aloud at a nobleman's party. The composer Michele Novaro who was a
guest at the same party, tried a few notes on the piano and then, went home to
compose the song. The anthem was sung for the first time the next day by a
group of political exiles in the Caffè della Lega Italiana of Turin.

The anthem was chosen on a provisional basis in 1947 as the national anthem,
however, the choice was never officially confirmed or re-examined, so
officilaly, the anthem has been the "temporary" anthem of Italy for over 50
years!

There is talk lately of replacing the anthem, firstly because the music is not
up to the standards of Italian classical music tradition (ironically, some of
Italy's greatest composers have composed anthems in this tradition, which are
used by Central and South American countries, giving birth to the term "Latin
American_epic_anthem"), and also the lyrics refer to specific events that were
familiar to the Italians of the time that the anthem was composed, but bear
little to no resonance with today's Italians. However, "Il Canto degli
Italiani" is very recognizable in Italy and would be hard to replace.

Special thanks to:Angelo D'Agnano for the MIDI file.

See also: Italy_(1861-1946), Italy_(1922-1943), Italy_(1946-1947).
