The Italian National Anthem
"Inno di Mameli"
Michelle Ehrmann
History
• The lyrics to the National Anthem of Italy were
written as a poem in Genoa by Goffredo Mameli
in 1847
• Michele Novaro set the lyrics to music in Turin
two months later.
• It became the Italian National Anthem, or “il
Canto degli Italiani”, when Italy became a
republic in 1946.
• It was not officially declared the national anthem
by law until November 2005.
Goffredo Mameli
• Had a degree in law from the University of
Genoa
• Became enthusiastic about the republican ideals
of Giuseppe Mazzini
• In March 1848, he fought against the Austrians
in Lombardy
• In December 1848 he went to Rome, where he
helped establish the Roman Republic
• Mameli died from a wound suffered fighting for
the Roman
L’inno di Mameli
• Fratelli d'Italia,
L'Italia s'è desta;
Dell'elmo di Scipio1
S'è cinta la testa.
Dov'è la Vittoria?
Le porga la chioma;2
Ché schiava di Roma
Iddio la creò.
Stringiamci a coorte!
Siam pronti alla morte;
Italia chiamò.
• Brothers of Italy,
Italy has awakened;
Scipio's helmet1
she has put on her head.
Where is the Victory?
Offer her the hair;2
because slave of Rome
God created her.
Let us unite!
We are ready to die;
Italy called.
1. The helmet of Marcus Scipio in the novel Hannibal’s children.
2. A possible reference to the ancient custom of slaves cutting their hair short as a sign of
servitude
• We have been for centuries
• Noi siamo da secoli
stamped on, and laughed
Calpesti, derisi,
Perché non siam popolo, at,
because we are not one
Perché siam divisi.
people,
Raccolgaci un'unica
because we are divided.
Bandiera, una speme;
Let's unite under
Di fonderci insieme
one flag, one dream;
Già l'ora suonò.
To melt together
Already the time has come.
Stringiamci a coorte!
Siam pronti alla morte;
Let us unite!
Italia chiamò.
We are ready to die;
Italy called.
• Uniamoci, amiamoci;
L'unione e l'amore
Rivelano ai popoli
Le vie del Signore.
Giuriamo far libero
Il suolo natio:
Uniti, per Dio,
Chi vincer ci può?
Stringiamci a coorte!
Siam pronti alla morte;
Italia chiamò.
• Let's unite, let's love;
The union and the love
Reveal to the people
God's ways.
We swear to liberate
the native soil:
United, for God,
Who can beat us?
Let us unite!
We are ready to die;
Italy called.
• Dall'Alpe a Sicilia,
Dovunque è Legnano3;
Ogn'uom di Ferruccio4
Ha il core e la mano;
I bimbi d'Italia
Si chiaman Balilla5;
Il suon d'ogni squilla
I Vespri suonò.
Stringiamci a coorte!
Siam pronti alla morte;
Italia chiamò.
• From the Alps to Sicily,
Everywhere is Legnano3;
Every man of Ferruccio4
has the heart and the
hand;
the children of Italy
are called Balilla5; The
sound of every church
bell
calling for evening
prayers.
Let us unite!
We are ready to die;
Italy called.
3. Legnano is the site of a famous battle in 1176 where various Italian comunities fought
against Emperor Federico Barbarossa for their freedom
4. Ferruccio was a captain who valliantly defended Florence from the troops of Charles V
in 1530.
5. Balilla was a nickname for Giambattista Perasso who was a child from Genova that
fought in the 1746 people's revolution of Genova against the Austrians.
• Son giunchi che piegano
Le spade vendute6;
Già l'Aquila d'Austria
Le penne ha perdute.
Il sangue d'Italia
E il sangue Polacco7
Bevé col Cosacco8,
Ma il cor le bruciò.
Stringiamci a coorte!
Siam pronti alle morte;
Italia chiamò
• They are branches that
bend
the sold swords6; Already
the eagle of Austria
has lost its feathers.
the blood of Italy
and the Polish blood7
Drank with Cossacks8
But its heart was burnt.
Let us unite!
We are ready to die;
Italy called.
6. "Sold swords" - referring to Italian mercanaries bought by the French to fight against
the Italian Republicans.
7. “Polish blood" - referring to the Austrians who jointly with Russia invaded and
destroyed Poland.
8. A group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of military
communities in Ukraine and Southern Russia.
Bibliography
•
"The Italian National Anthem." www.RomanLife-RomeItaly.com. Marcus
Ruhl, n.d.
Web. 22 Mar. 2011. <http://www.romanlife-romeitaly.com/
italian-national-anthem.html>.
•
Sarti, Roland. "Mameli, Goffredo." Italy: A Reference Guide from the
Renaissance to the Present, European Nations. New York: Facts On File,
Inc., 2004. Modern World History Online. Facts On File,
Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE53&iPin=ITA0492&SingleRecord=True (accessed
March 24, 2011).
•
"Goffredo Mameli." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica
Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2011.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/360771/Goffredo-Mameli>.