CHE GIOIA!!

WHAT JOY the National Team of Italy gave us this past month during

the Euro 2020 championship!!

The team played with enthusiasm, confidence, style – and best of all, THEY WON!!

And you can believe, like Italians all over the world, Lorenzo and I watched and celebrated the final with our friends!    To give an idea of the jubilation…

But this post is not just about keeping the Euro 2020 victory alive (but partly that…).

What I really want to write about is the national anthem of Italy, Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy), also known as Inno di Mameli (Mameli’s Hymn), also known as Il Canto degli Italiani (Song of the Italians).

It’s always fun to watch the Italian team belt out the anthem, arm in arm, at the start of games.

I thought you might like to know what they’re singing about. And maybe even try to sing along one day…

The Italian National Anthem(s)

There’s an interesting history to the Italian national anthem Fratelli d’Italia, which was only officially designated as such in 2017.

The lyrics were written in 1847 by a 20 year old poet from Genoa, Goffredo Mameli, inspired by the French anthem La Marseillaise. A composer from Genoa, Michele Novaro, wrote the music.

The song was popular during the fight for unification of Italy in the 1860’s known as the Risorgimento (or Resurgence). But the monarchy established in 1861 under the Kingdom of Italy, the House of Savoy, chose instead a Royal March as the official anthem.

And so it went.

Mameli’s Hymn gained in popularity over the years, although at times has faced opposition by those who would prefer Verdi’s popular song Va, Pensiero from the opera Nabucco to be made the official anthem.

Giuseppe Verdi was an important patriotic figure during the Risorgimento. Va, Pensiero tells the story of exiled Hebrew slaves longing for their freedom and their homeland. The opera Nabucco and this song were surely written by Verdi as a proxy for the desire of Italians to be freed in the 1860’s from their Austrian occupiers, one that would pass by the Austrian censors.

In the end, Fratelli d’Italia prevailed.

Enough history, let’s get to the words. Or at least the opening verses heard at games.

What do you think? Quite a rallying cry, giusto?

I imagine you’re wondering who in the world is Scipio, and why are we singing about his helmet? You’ll find a link below to the official website of the President of Italy, which explains the meaning of the anthem (in English). Think ancient Rome…

An Important Clarification and Disclaimer

Unfortunately, right-wing politicians in Italy have attempted to hijack the patriotic symbol of the national anthem for their political ends. Hence, a right wing political group calls themselves Fratelli d’Italia, the same as the national anthem. Another populist political group, the Lega, has taken the idea of championing Verdi’s Va, Pensiero as part of their platform.

Let’s be very clear. In writing about the national anthem and my interest in all things Verdi, I am in no way supporting these groups, whose rhetoric and policies I find distasteful.

Until next time, alla prossima volta,  A. S. Furbetta