It is sung to commemorate the national sentiment. It is the anthem of Mameli which on December 10th turns 172 years after its first debut. A work that has remained unofficial for a long time and has only recently received legal recognition. Behind him there is a history made up of hard-earned sacrifices and conquests. Principles that led to today's modernity. Yet few are those who would be able to recite it in full. And so many have claimed to include it in school programs for a greater awareness of the country they live in.
Hymn by Mameli: Genoa 1847
Contextualize to understand. The Italian anthem is the son of the mottos that moved the national soil in the first half of the 800th century. A deep and visceral feeling. That of to free oneself from the foreign grip and to reach the ideals of redemption. It is within this framework that the Genoese Goffredo Mameli is the protagonist among many. A fervent patriot, when he was only twenty years old, he composed the text of “Il canto degli italiani”. It was the September 1847 when the stanzas took shape by the emotional ardor of Mameli. But a melody was missing. This is why, in November of the same year, the work reached Turin.
Then the text was entrusted to the composer Michele Novaro who set it to music with strong zeal, so much so that he decided to make some changes. That final "yes" that we still hear screaming today at the end of the hymn. A movement of the soul that explodes, an impetus that knows no brakes. And so on 10 December 1847 "Il canto degli italiani" had its first debut. It happened in Genoa, on the square of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Loreto. An intense text, certainly more understood at the time than today. Because the farther you are in the timeline from an event, the less you perceive its real value. And instead we should always feel the awareness that "what we are today is the fruit of what was before".
Words and parallels of meaning
Mameli's hymn had a certain success right from the start. The catchy melody and its important words quickly made it popular. Yet for many years something remained unofficial. Because? With the unification of Italy, of 1861, the Crown Savoy he opted for a very different national song. Of a much more conservative matrix, the Royal March it seemed to fit better with monarchical power. Mameli's work was certainly the symbol of the Risorgimento which alluded to slightly republican ideals. And indeed a quick comparison with other hymns proves it well. The same Mameli seems to have drawn inspiration from the Marseillaise. First expression of freedom, equality and brotherhood. So that "let's huddle together at court" according to some would be an allusion to the "Formez vos bataillon", already present in the French anthem.
But also all the references to classical antiquity that allow to associate the Italian song to the Greek one. After all, these are lands that were the cradle of civilization for centuries. A recovery therefore of its great origins. What about the clear reference to Austrian rule? In that stanza where "the eagle has lost its feathers" in which the winged animal refers directly to the Habsburg imperial coat of arms. But when then is the national song made official? We are talking about a very recent period that perhaps many do not expect. Nevertheless Mameli's hymn found recognition by law only in 2017 when the Parliament awarded it the status of national anthem of law.
Between the verses
Today, compared to its original version, only the first verse and the chorus are sung twice. But the national song is much longer. In its full version, in 1847, it consisted of five stanzas. A sixth was added only in 1859, not attributable to Mameli, who had died ten years earlier. So what does the hymn tell us? More or less ancient historical references and quotations of a certain importance. The Roman Scipio who won Hannibal thus freeing the peninsula from the Carthaginians. The battle of Legnano and the victory over the Barbarossa.
It's still the hero of the Florentine republic Francesco Ferruccio. But also the allusion to Sicilian Vespers who in the course of '200 drove out the Angevins. And then there is that verse that reads: "the children of Italy are called Balilla", obviously no reference to the fascist work. But to tal Giovanni Battista known as Balilla who in 1746 threw a stone at an Austrian officer. An episode that started the popular revolt against the Habsburgs and which ended a year later with the liberation of the city of Genoa. And it is precisely from the commemoration of this battle that Mameli's hymn debuted. A set of historical episodes therefore. When from north to south the people of the past ages have always fought. Thus reaching, between ideals and principles, that sense of union that made us, and still does today, a single people.
