Editing Il Canto degli Italiani (section)

==History==
===Origins===
{{multiple image
| align             = left
| image1            = Induno Domenico Goffredo Mameli.jpg
| width1            = 170
| alt1              = Goffredo Mameli
| image2            = Michele novaro.jpg
| width2            = 152
| alt2              = Michele Novaro
| caption1          = [[Goffredo Mameli]] (1827–1849), lyricist
| caption2          = [[Michele Novaro]] (1818–1885), musical composer
}}
[[File:Prima strofa autografa G Mameli.JPG|thumb|[[Holograph]]ic draft of 1847 by Goffredo Mameli of the first strophe and the refrain of "Il Canto degli Italiani"]]

The text of "Il Canto degli Italiani" was written by the [[Genoa|Genoese]] [[Goffredo Mameli]], then a young student and a fervent patriot, inspired by the [[mass mobilization]]s that would lead to the [[revolutions of 1848]] and the [[First Italian War of Independence]] (1848–1849).<ref name="quirinale">{{cite web |title=L'Inno nazionale |trans-title=The National Hymn |url=http://www.quirinale.it/qrnw/statico/simboli/inno/inno.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519095549/https://www.quirinale.it/qrnw/statico/simboli/inno/inno.htm |archive-date=2016-05-19 |access-date=17 November 2013 |website=Presidenza Della Republica [Presidency of the Republic] |publisher=Government of Italy}}</ref> Sources differ on the precise date of the text's drafting: according to some scholars, Mameli wrote the hymn 10 September 1847,{{sfn|Caddeo|1915|p=37}} while others date the composition's birth to two days before, 8 September.<ref>''Associazione Nazionale Volontari di Guerra "Canti della Patria"'' ["Patrimonial songs" of the National Association of Veteran Volunteers] in ''Il Decennale – X anniversario della Vittoria, Anno VII dell'era fascista'' [The Decennial: The 10th anniversary of victory, Year 7 of the [[fascist era]]], Vallecchi Editore, [[Firenze]], 1928, p.&nbsp;236.</ref> After discarding all extant music,{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=18}} on 10 November 1847{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=17}} Goffredo Mameli sent the text to [[Turin]] and the [[Genoa|Genoese]] composer [[Michele Novaro]], who lived at the time with the activist [[Lorenzo Valerio]].{{sfn|Caddeo|1915|p=37}}{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=18}}{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=126}}

The poem captured Novaro<ref name="Treccani">{{treccani|michele-novaro_(Dizionario-Biografico)|Novaro, Michele|Iovino, Roberto|78: Biographic Dictionary of Italians|2013}}</ref> and he decided to set it to music on 24 November 1847.{{sfn|Caddeo|1915|p=37}} Thirty years later, the patriot and poet [[Anton Giulio Barrili]] recalled Novaro's description of the event thus:<ref name="quirinale" /> 
{{Text and translation|<p>Mi posi al cembalo, coi versi di Goffredo sul leggio, e strimpellavo, assassinavo colle dita convulse quel povero strumento, sempre cogli occhi all'inno, mettendo giù frasi melodiche, l'un sull'altra, ma lungi le mille miglia dall'idea che potessero adattarsi a quelle parole. Mi alzai scontento di me; mi trattenni ancora un po' in casa Valerio, ma sempre con quei versi davanti agli occhi della mente. Vidi che non-c'era rimedio, presi congedo e corsi a casa. Là, senza neppure levarmi il cappello, mi buttai al pianoforte.</p>
<p>Mi tornò alla memoria il motivo strimpellato in casa Valerio: lo scrissi su d'un foglio di carta, il primo che mi venne alle mani: nella mia agitazione rovesciai la lucerna sul cembalo e, per conseguenza, anche sul povero foglio; fu questo l'originale dell'inno Fratelli d'Italia.</p>|<p>I placed myself at the [[harpsichord]], with Goffredo's verses on the lectern, and strummed away, murdering the poor instrument with my shaking hands.  I kept my eyes on the hymn as I set down melodic phrases, one after the other, but felt a thousand miles distant from the idea I could adapt the words. I stood up disgruntled with myself; I stayed a little longer in the Valerio house, but always those verses hung in my mind's eye. I saw that there was no remedy, took leave, and ran home. There, without even taking off my hat, I threw myself at the piano. </p>
<p>The motif strummed in the Valerio house came back to me: I wrote it on a sheet of paper, the first that came to my hands: in my agitation I upset the lamp on the harpsichord and, consequently, also on the poor sheet; this was the origin of the Fratelli d'Italia</p>}}[[File:Fratelli d'Italia elmo di scipio 1915.pdf|thumb|Cover of a 1915 album of patriotic music: the [[Italia turrita|personification of Italy]], wearing [[Scipio Africanus|Scipio's]] helmet and waving the [[flag of Italy|Italian flag]], leads the ''[[Bersaglieri]]'']]Mameli held [[Republicanism|Republican]] and [[Jacobin (politics)|Jacobin]] sympathies{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=50}}{{sfn|Ridolfi|2003|p=149}} and supported the [[French Revolution]] credo ''[[liberté, égalité, fraternité]]''.{{sfn|Bassi|2011|p=143}} The text of "Il Canto degli Italiani" drew inspiration from the French national anthem, "[[La Marseillaise]]".{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=119}} For example, "{{lang|it|italic=no|Stringiamci a coorte}}" recalls the "La Marseillaise" verse, "{{lang|fr|Formez vos bataillons}}" ("Form your battalions").{{sfn|Ridolfi|2003|p=149}}

In the original version of the hymn, the first line of the first verse read "Hurray Italy", but Mameli changed it to "Fratelli d'Italia" almost certainly at Novaro's suggestion.{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=121}} The latter, when he received the manuscript, also added a rebellious "Si!" ("Yes!") at the end of the final refrain.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|pp=20–21}}{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=127}}

Another verse in the first draft was dedicated to Italian women,<ref name="marconi2">{{cite web |title=Mameli, l'inno e il tricolore |url=http://www.radiomarconi.com/marconi/depliant/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501143425/http://www.radiomarconi.com/marconi/depliant/ |archive-date=1 May 2015 |access-date=24 November 2014 |language=it}}</ref> but eliminated by Mameli before the official debut. It read:<ref name="marconi2" />{{sfn|Stramacci|1991|p=57}} "Tessete o fanciulle / bandiere e coccarde / fan l'alme gagliarde / l'invito d'amor. ({{IPA|it|tesˈseːte o fanˈtʃulle], [banˈdjɛːr(e) e kkokˈkarde], [fan ˈlalme ɡaʎˈʎarde], [liɱˈviːto daˈmor}}. English: Weave maidens / [[Flag of Italy|flags]] and [[Cockade of Italy|cockades]]{{refn|group=N|This alludes to the [[flag of Italy]] and to the [[cockade of Italy]], both symbols of the battle for the [[unification of Italy]].}} / they make souls gallant / the invitation of love.)"

===Debut===
[[File:Inno museo di genova.jpg|thumb|The first printed copy of the hymn, by the Delle Piane printers of Genoa, on looseleaf, was distributed on 10 December 1847 to demonstrators in Oregina. Mameli then added in pen the fifth strophe of the hymn, censored by the Savoy government as too anti-Austrian.]] [[File:Genova Oregina Santuario.jpg|thumb|left|The ''Santuario della Nostra Signora di Loreto'', before which the "Il Canto degli Italiani" made its public debut]]

On 10 December 1847,<ref name="marconi2" /> a demonstration before the {{lang|it|{{ill|Santuario della Nostra Signora di Loreto|it|Santuario di Nostra Signora di Loreto (Genova)}}}} in {{ill|Oregina|it}}, Genoa, was officially dedicated to the 101st anniversary of the Portoria quarter's popular rebellion during the [[War of the Austrian Succession]], which had expulsed the [[Austrians]] from the city. In fact, it was an excuse to protest against foreign occupations in Italy and induce [[Charles Albert of Sardinia]] to embrace the Italian cause of liberty and of unity.

On this occasion, the [[flag of Italy]] was shown and Filarmonica Sestrese, the municipal band of [[Sestri Ponente]], played Mameli's anthem for 30,000 patriots who had come to Genoa from all over Italy for the event.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=18}} This event is generally believed to be the song's first public performance, but there may have been a previous public rendition on 9 November 1847 in Genoa, of which the original documentation was lost.{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=120}}

That performance would have been by the Filarmonica [[Voltri|Voltrese]]{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=120}} founded by Goffredo's brother {{ill|Nicola Mameli|it}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pjmagazine.net/mameli-accadde-oggi-10-dicembre/|title=Accadde Oggi: 10 dicembre|access-date=30 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160511132851/http://www.pjmagazine.net/mameli-accadde-oggi-10-dicembre/|archive-date=11 May 2016|language=it}}</ref> and used a first draft of "Il Canto degli Italiani" that differs from the final version (see above).{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=120}} As its author was infamously [[Giuseppe Mazzini|Mazzinian]], the piece was forbidden by the [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Piedmontese police]] until March 1848: its execution was also forbidden by the Austrian police, which also pursued its singing interpretation&nbsp;— considered a [[political crime]]&nbsp;— until their empire's [[Dissolution of Austria-Hungary|dissolution]].{{sfn|Caddeo|1915|pp=37–38}} On 18 December 1847, the Pisan newspaper ''L'Italia'' wrote how the song evoked public spirits:{{sfn|Ridolfi|2002|p=235}} {{blockquote|... For many evenings numerous youths have come together in the ''Accademia filodrammatici'' to sing a hymn of Mameli, set to music by the maestro Novaro. Poetry ... is full of fire, music fully corresponds to it ... | author=|source=Newspaper ''L'Italia'', 18 December 1847}}

Two of Mameli's [[autograph]]ed manuscripts have survived to the 21st century: the first draft, with Mameli's hand annotations, at the {{ill|Mazzinian Institute|lt=Mazzinian Institute of Genoa|it|Museo del Risorgimento e istituto mazziniano}},{{sfn|Bassi|2011|p=50}} and the letter, from Mameli on 10 November 1847 to Novaro, at the [[Museum of the Risorgimento (Turin)|Museo del Risorgimento in Turin]].{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=17}}

Novaro's autographed manuscript to the publisher {{ill|Francesco Lucca|it}} is located in the Ricordi Historical Archive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2014/10/12/la-decisione-di-de-gasperi-fratelli-ditalia-e-inno-nazionaleRoma17.html|title=La decisione di De Gasperi "Fratelli d'Italia è inno nazionale"|date=12 October 2014 |language=it|access-date=30 November 2014}}</ref> The later Istituto Mazziniano sheet lacks the final strophe ("Son giunchi che piegano...") for fear of censorship. These leaflets were to be distributed at the 10 December demonstration in [[Genoa]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.labandadeisei.it/costituzioneitaliana/innodimameli.htm |title=Inno di Mameli – Il canto degli Italiani: testo, analisi e storia |publisher=labandadeisei.it|access-date=17 November 2013}}</ref> The hymn was also printed on leaflets in Genoa, by the printer [[Casamara]].

===The following decades===
[[File:Sei strofe.JPG|thumb|Edition of 1860, printed by Tito I Ricordi]]

"Il Canto degli Italiani" debuted with only a few months left to the [[revolutions of 1848]]. Shortly before the promulgation of the ''[[Statuto Albertino]]'', the constitution that [[Charles Albert of Sardinia]] conceded to the [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia in Italy]] on 4 March 1848, political gatherings of more than ten people had become legal,{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=18}} and catchy songs like "Il Canto degli Italiani" could spread by [[word of mouth]].{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=18}} Patriots from the 10 December demonstration spread the hymn all over the [[Italian peninsula]].{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=18}} The hymn was very popular among the [[Italian people]] and the ranks of the Republican volunteers.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=15}} It was commonly sung in most parts of Italy during demonstrations, protests and revolts as a symbol of the [[Italian unification]].{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=42}}

The Savoyard authorities censored the fifth strophe<ref name=quirinale/> to preserve [[diplomatic relations]] with the [[Austrians]]; but after the declaration of war against the [[Austrian Empire]] and the beginning of the [[First Italian War of Independence]] (1848–1849),{{sfn|Ridolfi|2003|p=147}} the soldiers and the Savoy military bands performed it so frequently that King Charles Albert was forced to withdraw all censorship.<ref name=lastampa>{{cite web|url=http://www.lastampa.it/2009/08/17/italia/cronache/come-nacque-linno-di-mameli-HUyiPKRNqytB60uIEisFnL/pagina.html|title=Come nacque l'inno di Mameli?|date=17 August 2009|access-date=30 November 2014|language=it}}</ref> The rebels sang "Il Canto degli Italiani" during the [[Five Days of Milan]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiomarconi.com/marconi/divisi/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040923015642/http://www.radiomarconi.com/marconi/divisi/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=23 September 2004 |title=IL CANTO DEGLI ITALIANI: il significato |publisher=Radiomarconi.com |access-date=17 November 2013}}</ref> and at Charles Albert of Piedmont-Sardinia's promulgation of the ''Statuto Albertino'' (also in 1848).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museotorino.it/view/s/b1f940d89239411db6495a43f124c8ef|title=Concessione e promulgazione dello Statuto Albertino|access-date=30 November 2014|language=it}}</ref> Volunteers for the brief [[Roman Republic (19th century)|Roman Republic]] (1849) sang it,{{sfn|Caddeo|1915|p=38}}<ref>{{cite web |date=14 February 2011 |title=L'inno della Repubblica Romana |trans-title=The Hymn of the Roman Republic |url=http://www.gruppolaico.it/2011/02/14/linno-della-repubblica-romana/ |access-date=30 November 2014 |website=Gruppo Laico di Ricerca: Associazione Culturale |language=it}}</ref> and [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] hummed and whistled it during the defense of [[Rome]] and the flight to [[Venice]].{{sfn|Caddeo|1915|p=37}}

===From the unification of Italy to the First World War===
[[File:Inno mameli prima guerra mondiale.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.5|Propaganda poster from the 1910s with the "Il Canto degli Italiani" score]]

In the 1860, the corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi used to sing the hymn in the battles against the [[Bourbons]] in Sicily and [[Southern Italy]] during the [[Expedition of the Thousand]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Class 3 |date=2010–2011 |title=Il canto degli italiani |trans-title=The song of the Italians |url=http://progettocentocin.altervista.org/il-canto-degli-italiani.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104230449/http://progettocentocin.altervista.org/il-canto-degli-italiani.html |archive-date=4 November 2013 |access-date=17 November 2013 |website=Cento50 Anni di...: Dalla realizzione dell'Unitá d'Italia ad oggi [50 Years After...: From the realization of Italian unity to today] |publisher=Instituto Comprensivo "G. Ferrari" |publication-place=Momo}}</ref> [[Giuseppe Verdi]], in his ''[[Inno delle nazioni]]'' ("Hymn of the nations"), composed for the [[International Exhibition (1862)|London International Exhibition of 1862]], chose "Il Canto degli Italiani" to represent Italy, putting it beside "[[God Save the Queen]]" and "[[La Marseillaise]]".

After the [[proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy]] (1861), the "[[Marcia Reale]]" ("Royal March"),{{sfn|Bassi|2011|p=46}} composed in 1831, was chosen as the [[national anthem]] of [[Italian unification|unified Italy]]. "Il Canto degli Italiani" had too [[Political radical|radical]] content, with its strong [[Republicanism|republican]] and [[Jacobin (politics)|Jacobin]] connotations,{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=50}}{{sfn|Ridolfi|2003|p=149}} and did not combine well with the [[Monarchism|monarchical]] conclusion to the [[unification of Italy]].{{sfn|Ridolfi|2003|p=147}} Mameli's republican&nbsp;— in fact [[Giuseppe Mazzini|Mazzinian]]&nbsp;— creed, was, however, more historical than political,{{sfn|Ridolfi|2003|p=149}} and [[socialist]] and anarchist circles also disliked "Il Canto degli Italiani" as too conservative.{{sfn|Ridolfi|2003|p=148}} 
[[File:Camera-deputati 21Maggio 1915 inno mameli.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Front page of the ''[[Corriere della Sera]]'' of 21 May 1915: parliamentary deputies acclaimed the government's assumption of war powers with the Mameli-Novaro anthem.]]

The song was one of the most common songs during the [[Third Italian War of Independence]] (1866).{{sfn|Ridolfi|2003|p=147}} At the [[Capture of Rome]] on 20 September 1870, the last step in Italian unification, choirs sang it together with "[[:it:La bella Gigogin|La bella Gigogin]]" and the "Marcia Reale";{{sfn|Bassi|2011|p=46}}{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=52}} and "Il Canto degli Italiani" received [[bersaglieri]] fanfare.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.150anni-lanostrastoria.it/index.php/presa-di-roma |title=La breccia di Porta Pia |publisher=150anni-lanostrastoria.it |access-date=17 November 2013}}</ref>

After the end of the Italian unification, "Il Canto degli Italiani" was taught in schools, and remained very popular among Italians.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=55}} However, other musical pieces connected to the political and social situation of the time, such as the "{{ill|Inno dei lavoratori|it}}" ("Hymn of the Workers") or "[[Goodbye to Lugano]]",{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|pp=56–57}} addressed everyday problems. These partly obscured the popularity of reunification hymns.<ref name="raistoria">{{cite web |last=Tiriticc |first=Pierluigi |year=2014 |title=Inno di Mameli |trans-title=Mameli's hymn |url=http://www.raistoria.rai.it/articoli/inno-di-mameli/30037/default.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403193237/http://www.raistoria.rai.it/articoli-programma-puntate/inno-di-mameli/30037/default.aspx |archive-date=3 April 2019 |access-date=7 May 2015 |website=RAIStoria |publisher=RAI |language=it |publication-place=Rome}}</ref>

"Fratelli d'Italia", thanks to references to patriotism and armed struggle,<ref name="raistoria" /> returned to success during the [[Italo-Turkish War]] (1911–1912), where it joined "A Tripoli";{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=58}} and in the trenches of the [[First World War]] (1915–1918).<ref name="raistoria" /> That time's [[Italian irredentism]] found a symbol in "Il Canto degli Italiani", although in the years following he{{Who|date=December 2023}} would have been preferred, in the patriotic ambit, musical pieces of greater military style such as "[[La Leggenda del Piave]]", the "{{ill|Canzone del Grappa|it}}" or "{{ill|La campana di San Giusto|it|La campana di San Giusto (brano musicale)}}".{{sfn|Ridolfi|2003|p=148}} Shortly after Italy entered the First World War, on 25 July 1915, [[Arturo Toscanini]] performed "Il Canto degli Italiani" at an [[Interventionism (politics)|interventionist]] demonstration.{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=114}}{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|pp=59–60}}

===During fascism===
[[File:Fratelli d italia 1944 RSI.jpg|thumb|"Il Canto degli Italiani" remembered together with the [[unification of Italy]] on a propaganda poster of [[Benito Mussolini]]'s [[Italian Social Republic]]|338x338px]]

[[Fascism|Fascist]] chants, such as "[[Giovinezza]]" (or "Inno Trionfale del Partito Nazionale Fascista") took on great importance, after the 1922 [[March on Rome]].{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=111}} Although not official anthems, they were widely disseminated, publicized, and taught in schools.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=63}} Non-fascist melodies, including "Il Canto degli Italiani," were discouraged.<ref name=raistoria/>

In 1932, the [[National Fascist Party]] secretary [[Achille Starace]] decided to prohibit musical pieces that did not sing to [[Benito Mussolini]] and, more generally, did not link to fascism.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=131}} "Subversive" songs, i.e. those of anarchist or socialist type, such as the anthem of the workers or "[[The Internationale]]", and non-sympathetic foreign nations' official anthems, such as "[[La Marseillaise]]", were banned.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=64}} Sympathetic regimes' anthems, such as the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] hymn "[[Horst-Wessel-Lied]]" and the [[Francoist Spain|Francoist]] song "[[Cara al Sol]]", were contrariwise encouraged.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=64}} After the 1929 [[Lateran Treaty]] with the [[Holy See]], [[Anti-clericalism|anti-clerical]] passages were also banned.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=64}}

In the spirit of this directive, some songs were resized, such as "[[La Leggenda del Piave]]", sung almost exclusively during the [[National Unity and Armed Forces Day]] every 4 November.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=65}} The chants used during the [[Italian unification]] were however tolerated:{{sfn|Ridolfi|2003|p=148}}{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=64}} "Il Canto degli Italiani", which was forbidden in official ceremonies, received a certain condescension on particular occasions.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=64}}

During the [[Second World War]], regime musicians released fascist pieces via radio, but very few songs spontaneously arose among the population.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=68}} Songs like "[[A primavera viene il bello]]", "[[Battaglioni M (song)|Battaglioni M]]", "[[Vincere!]]" and "[[Camerata Richard]]" were common. The most famous spontaneous song was "{{ill|Sul ponte di Perati|it}}".{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|pp=68–69}}

After the [[Armistice of Cassibile|8 September 1943 armistice]], the Italian government provisionally adopted as a national anthem "La Leggenda del Piave", replacing the "Marcia Reale".{{sfn|Ridolfi|2003|p=148}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 July 2008 |title=E il ministro lodò il campano Giovanni Gaeta |language=Italian |trans-title=And the minister praised the Campanian Giovanni Gaeta |page=9 |work=La Corriera della Sera |url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2008/luglio/22/ministro_lodo_campano_Giovanni_Gaeta_co_8_080722021.shtml |access-date=1 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823232916/http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2008/luglio/22/ministro_lodo_campano_Giovanni_Gaeta_co_8_080722021.shtml |archive-date=23 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=8 December 2006 |title=La leggenda del Piave inno d'Italia dal 1943 al 1946 |language=it |trans-title="The Legend of Piave," Italian anthem 1943–1946 |work=Il Piave |url=http://www.ilpiave.it/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3156 |access-date=30 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109003812/http://www.ilpiave.it/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3156 |archive-date=9 November 2014}}</ref> Cooperation with the fascist dictatorship was now egg on the monarchy's face;{{sfn|Ridolfi|2003|p=148}} a song that recalled the [[Bollettino della Vittoria|Italian victory]] in [[First World War|World War I]] could infuse courage and hope to the [[Royal Italian Army]] troops who now fought against Mussolini's [[Italian Social Republic|Social Republic]] and [[Nazi Germany]].{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=70}}

"Fratelli d'Italia" resounded in [[Allies of World War II|Allies]]-freed [[Southern Italy]] and partisan-controlled areas to the north.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=69}} "Il Canto degli Italiani", in particular, had a good success in [[Anti-fascism|anti-fascist]] circles,{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=65}} where it joined partisan songs "[[Fischia il vento]]" and "[[Bella ciao]]".{{sfn|Ridolfi|2003|p=148}}{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=69}} Some scholars believe that the success of the piece in anti-fascist circles then was decisive for its choice as provisional anthem of the Italian Republic.{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=114}}

Often, "Il Canto degli Italiani" is wrongly referred to as the [[national anthem]] of the [[Italian Social Republic]]. However, Mussolini's Republic had no official anthem, playing "Il Canto degli Italiani" and "Giovinezza"<ref name="CantiRev">[http://www.archiviostorico.info/Rubriche/Librieriviste/recensioni4/IcantidiSalo.htm Review] of ''I canti di Salò'' (De Marzi) (in Italian).  Accessed 17 November 2014.</ref> equally often at the ceremonies. "Il Canto degli Italiani" retained value to the fascists only for propaganda.<ref>{{cite web |year=2009 |editor-last=Misuraca |editor-first=Fara |editor2-last=Grasso |editor2-first=Alfonso |title=Fratelli d'Italia |trans-title=Brothers of Italy |url=http://www.ilportaledelsud.org/inno_mameli.htm#_ftn16 |access-date=29 March 2015 |website=Brigantino – il Portale del Sud [Brigantino: Gateway to the South] |publisher=Centro Culturale e di Studi Storici "Brigantino – il Portale del Sud" |language=it |publication-place=Naples}}</ref>

So Mameli's hymn was, curiously, sung by both [[Italian partisans|partisans]] and fascists.<ref name="CantiRev" />

===From provisional to official anthem===
[[File:Cipriano Facchinetti.jpg|thumb|Cipriano Facchinetti]]

In 1945, at the end of the war, [[Arturo Toscanini]] directed a performance of [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s 1862 ''[[Inno delle nazioni]]'' in London, including "Il Canto degli Italiani".<ref name=quirinale/>{{sfn|Bassi|2011|p=146}} However, even after the [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|birth of the Italian Republic]], "[[La Leggenda del Piave]]" remained the temporary national anthem.{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=112}}

For the new anthem, a debate arose. Possible options included "[[Va, pensiero]]" from Verdi's ''[[Nabucco]]''; a completely new piece; "Il Canto degli Italiani"; the "Inno di Garibaldi"; and confirmation of "La Leggenda del Piave".{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=112}}{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=72}} The government then approved [[Italian Republican Party|Republican]] War Minister [[Cipriano Facchinetti]]'s proposal to adopt "Il Canto degli Italiani" as provisional anthem.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=72}}

"La Leggenda del Piave" thus served as national anthem until the [[Council of Ministers (Italy)|Council of Ministers]] meeting on 12 October 1946, when Facchinetti officially announced the provisional anthem for the 4 November [[National Unity and Armed Forces Day]] celebrations.{{sfn|Bassi|2011|p=47}}{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=110}} The press release stated:<ref name="governo">{{cite web|url=https://presidenza.governo.it/ufficio_cerimoniale/cerimoniale/inno.html|title=Ufficio del Cerimoniale di Stato|access-date=13 January 2024|language=it}}</ref>

{{blockquote|... On the proposal of the Minister of War it was established that the oath of the Armed Forces to the Republic and to its Chief would be carried out on November 4th p.v. and that, temporarily, the anthem of Mameli is adopted as the national anthem ...|author=Cipriano Facchinetti}}

Facchinetti also declared that a draft decree would be proposed to confirm "Il Canto degli Italiani" as the provisional national anthem of the newly formed Republic, but did not follow up on this promise.{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=110}}<ref name="marconi">{{cite web |year=2012 |title=L'inno di Mameli: Un po' di storia |trans-title=Mameli's Hymn: A little history |url=http://www.radiomarconi.com/Marconi/mameli.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404142539/http://www.radiomarconi.com/marconi/mameli.html |archive-date=4 April 2019 |access-date=9 November 2014 |website=Radio Marconi |url-status=usurped |language=it}}</ref> Instead, he proposed to formalize "Il Canto degli Italiani" in the [[Constitution of Italy]], then being drafted.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=72}}

The Constitution, finished in 1948, determined the [[flag of Italy|national flag]] <!-- article 12 -->, but did not establish a national anthem or emblem; [[National symbols of Italy|the latter]] was adopted by legislative decree on 5 May.<ref name="emblema">{{cite web |title=I simboli della Repubblica – L'emblema |trans-title=The symbols of the republic: the emblem |url=http://www.quirinale.it/qrnw/statico/simboli/emblema/emblema.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504050926/https://www.quirinale.it/qrnw/statico/simboli/emblema/emblema.htm |archive-date=4 May 2016 |access-date=2 December 2014 |website=Presidenza della Repubblica |publisher=Government of Italy |language=it}}</ref> A draft constitutional law prepared immediately afterwards sought to insert, after discussion of the national flag, the sentence "The Anthem of the Republic is the 'Il Canto degli Italiani'". This law, too, stalled.{{sfn|Ridolfi|2002|p=34}}

"Il Canto degli Italiani" nonetheless had great success among [[Italian diaspora|Italian emigrants]]:{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=125}} "Fratelli d'Italia" [[Sheet music|scores]] are sold in [[Little Italy|Little Italies]] across the [[Anglosphere]], and "Il Canto degli Italiani" is often played on more or less official occasions in [[North America|North]] and South America.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=125}} In particular, it was the "soundtrack" of post-WWII fundraisers in the Americas for the Italian population left devastated by the conflict.{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=126}}

President of the Republic [[Carlo Azeglio Ciampi]], began, from 1999 to 2006, to revive "Il Canto degli Italiani" as a [[National symbols of Italy|national symbol of Italy]].{{sfn|Ridolfi|2002|p=153}}{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=12}} Ciampi declared that:{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=12}}  {{blockquote|... It is a hymn that, when you listen to it, makes you vibrate inside; it is a song of freedom of a people that, united, rises again after centuries of divisions, of humiliations ...|author=Carlo Azeglio Ciampi}}

In August 2016, a bill was submitted to the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the [[Chamber of Deputies (Italy)|Chamber of Deputies]] to make "Il Canto degli Italiani" Italy's national anthem,<ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--No byline--> |date=3 August 2016 |title=L'Inno di Mameli è ancora provvisorio. Proposta di legge per renderlo ufficiale |language=it |trans-title=Mameli's anthem is provisional still. A bill proposed to render it official |work=RAI |department=Politica |location=Rome |url=https://www.rainews.it/archivio-rainews/articoli/Inno-di-Mameli-ancora-provvisorio-Proposta-di-legge-per-renderlo-ufficiale-eebb0911-6737-49dc-a97f-fbc8ae39e825.html?refresh_ce |access-date=10 December 2023}}</ref> and passed out of committee in July 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--Staff byline--> |date=24 July 2017 |title=Saranno ufficiali tutte e sei le strofe dell'Inno di Mameli e non solo le prime due |language=it |trans-title=All six strophes of Mameli's hymn will be official and not just the first two |work=Cronaca |publisher=ANSA.it |url=http://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cronaca/2017/07/23/mameliprimo-si-a-inno-ufficiale-no-dal-cattolico-gigli-_5fb1cde0-f628-4c27-8474-93c651e1c5c2.html |access-date=10 December 2023}}</ref> On 15 December 2017, on ''[[Gazzetta Ufficiale]]'' law nº 181 of 4 December 2017, was published after passing both houses of Parliament, and the law came into force on 30 December 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/atto/serie_generale/caricaDettaglioAtto/originario?atto.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=2017-12-15&atto.codiceRedazionale=17G00195&elenco30giorni=false|title=LEGGE 4 dicembre 2017, n. 181 – ''Gazzetta Ufficiale''|date=15 December 2017|language=it}}</ref>