Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1909
Giovinezza
Buy Giovinezza now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
"'Giovinezza'" ( ) is the official hymn of the Italian National Fascist Party, regime, and army, and was an unofficial national anthem of the Kingdom of Italy between 1924 and 1943.Farrell, Nicholas. 2005. 'Mussolini: a New Life'. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. . p. 238. Although often sung with the official national anthem Marcia Reale, some sources consider Giovinezza to have supplanted the Royal March as the 'de facto' national anthem Bertini, Tullio Bruno. 1998. 'Trapped in Tuscany Liberated by the Buffalo Soldiers'. Branden Books. . p. 79. of Italy,Silone, Ignazio. 1977. 'Fontamara'. Manchester University Press. . p. 252. to the dismay of Victor Emmanuel III of ItalySmith, Denis Mack. 1959. 'Italy: A Modern History'. University of Michigan Press. p. 391.—a powerful symbol of the diarchy between the King and Mussolini.Mack-Smith, Denis M. 1989. 'Italy and Its Monarchy'. Yale University Press. . p. 273. It was subsequently the official anthem of the Italian Social Republic.Giacomo De Marzi, 'I canti di Sal', Fratelli Frilli, 2005.
Ubiquitous in mid-twentieth century Italy, the hymn emphasized youth as a theme of the fascist movement and was one example of the centrality of the Arditi (Italian World War I veterans) to the fascist narrative.Olick, Jeffrey K. 2003. 'States of Memory-CL: continuities, conflicts, and transformations in national retrospection'. Duke University Press. . p. 69.
History
"Giovinezza" was composed by lawyer and composer Giuseppe Blanc in 1909 as "Il Commiato" (Italian for "farewell"). Blanc later also wrote other fascist songs, including 'The Eagles of Rome', an Ode to the Italian Empire.Arnold, Denis. 1983. 'The New Oxford Companion to Music'. Oxford University Press. p. 763. Previously a Turin university graduation song,Langsam, Walter Consuelo. 1954. 'The World Since 1919'. Macmillan. p. 154. and popular among Italian soldiers during World War I, the song was called "Inno degli Arditi" (Hymn of the Arditi, a corps of the Italian Royal Army during World War I, whose members joined the fascist movement in large numbers).Scott, Jonathan French, and Baltzly, Alexander. 1930. 'Readings in European History Since 1814'. F. S. Crofts & co. p. 607. The hymn was further popularized by the mass rallies of Gabriele d'Annunzio in Fiume.Payne, George Stanley. 1995. 'A History of Fascism, 1914-1945'. Routledge. . p. 92.
The version sung during the March on Rome was composed by G. Castaldo in 1921, using the original score by Giuseppe Blanc and words by Marcello Manni (beginning "Su compagni in forte schiere"). After the March on Rome, where it was sung, Mussolini commissioned Salvator Gotta to write the new lyrics, which were completed in 1924."[http://david.national-anthems.net/it-gio.htm "Giovinezza" (The Youth)]."
Gotta's version plays on fascist themes like youth and nationalism. Its reference to "Alighieri's vision" is an allusion to Dante Alighieri marking Italy's borders on the Quarnaro (Kvarner) Gulf, thus including the province of Istria, a territory granted to Italy after World War I.Bosworth, Richard J. B. 1996. 'Italy and the Wider World 1860-1960'. Routledge. . p. 154.
After the capitulation of Italy in 1944, the Allies suppressed the hymn in Italy. At the time, Italy had no national anthem,Blom, Eric ed., 1955, 'Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians', St. Martin's Press, p. 22 until 'Il Canto degli Italiani' was provisionally chosen when Italy became a Republic on 12 October 1946, only to be officially legislated on 4 December 2017.
Lyrics
1922 Lyrics
1924 Lyrics
The lines "'E per Benito Mussolini / Eja eja alal / E per la nostra Patria bella / Eja eja alal'" do not appear in some recorded and published versions of the song.
Performances
"Giovinezza" was played "with the slightest pretext" at sporting events, films, and other public gatherings, and often carried adverse (even violent) consequences for those who did not join in.Gallagher, Tag. 1998. 'The Adventures of Roberto Rossellini'. Da Capo Press. . p. 62. Even foreigners were roughed up by blackshirts if they failed to remove their hats and show respect when "Giovinezza" was played.Mellow, MR James R. 1994. 'Hemingway: A Life Without Consequences'. Da Capo Press. . p. 184.
In the 1930s, "Giovinezza" was made the official anthem of the Italian army.Germino, Dante L. 1959. 'The Italian Fascist Party in Power: A Study in Totalitarian Rule'. University of Minnesota Press. p. 114. The school day was required to be opened either with "Giovinezza" or "Balilla", the song of the Opera Nazionale Balilla.Ebenstein, William. 1972. 'Fascist at Work'. Ams Pr Inc. p. 134. A faint, recorded version of the hymn played in the background of the Chapel of the Fascist Martyrs in the Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution.Etlin, Richard A. 1994. 'Symbolic Space: French Enlightenment Architecture and Its Legacy'. University of Chicago Press. . p. 196.
There was a German song with German lyrics, set to the same tune as Giovinezza; "Hitlerleute" (Hitler's people) replacing "Giovinezza". [http://www.ingeb.org/songs/giovinez.html] A Japanese translation of Giovinezza, "" (lit. The song of blackshirts party), was created in commemoration of the Tripartite Pact and used in Japanese overseas broadcasting. (KITAYAMA, Setsurou) 1987 ' 1 ' ('Radio Tokyo 1: The road to the Pearl Harbor')
Italian tenor Beniamino Gigli recorded "Giovinezza" in 1937, although the anthem is noticeably excluded from his "Edizione Integrale", released by EMI.High fidelity. 1957. 'Records in Review'. Wyeth Press. p. 360. "Giovinezza" followed the inauguration of the Fascist parliament in 1924 (following the Acerbo law)'The New York Times'. 25 May 1924. "Italy's Parliament Opened with Pomp." p. 3. and preceded the Nazi radio broadcast announcing the creation of the Italian Social Republic.'New York Times'. 9 September 1943. "New Fascist Regime Setup, Nazis Report." p. 1.
"Giovinezza" was sung on 12 March 1939, the day of Pope Pius XII's coronation, by the Pope's Palatine Guard. After the last ceremony of his papal coronation was over Pius XII went to rest in the Lateran Palace. The singing occurred during a moment of public bonhomie between the Palatine Guards and the Italian Guards, "Palatine and Italian Guards exchanged courtesies, the former playing the fascist anthem, "Giovinezza" and the latter the papal hymn." This incident, which was not part of the coronation ceremony and took place without the knowledge or approval of Pope Pius XII is sometimes used to portray Pius XII as a crypto-fascist.
Matthews, Herbert L. 19 May 1939. "Pope Takes Over St. John Lateran In Pageant Last Held 93 Years Ago." 'New York Times'. p. 9.
Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (who had previously run as a Fascist parliamentary candidate in 1919 and whom Mussolini had called "the greatest conductor in the world") notably refused to conduct "Giovinezza" on multiple occasions. Toscanini had refused to play "Giovinezza" in Milan in 1922 and later in Bayreuth, which earned him accolades from anti-fascists throughout Europe.Ignatieff, Michael. 1999. 'Isaiah Berlin: A Life'. Owl Books. . p. 54. Mussolini did not attend the premier of Puccini's 'Turandot' on 15 April 1926having been invited by the management of La Scalabecause Toscanini would not play 'Giovinezza' before the performance.Osborne, Charles. 1993. 'The Complete Operas of Puccini: A Critical Guide'. Da Capo Press. . p. 250-251. Finally, Toscanini refused to conduct "Giovinezza" at a May 1931 concert in Bologna, was subsequently roughed up by a group of blackshirts, and thereafter left Italy until after World War II.Taubman, Hyman Howard. 1951. 'The Maestro, the Life of Arturo Toscanini'. Simon and Schuster. p. 157.Relationship to Marcia Reale
The Royal March had often preceded "Giovinezza" on official occasions,Procacci, Giuliano. 1970. 'History of the Italian People'. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 356. as required by official regulations following an abortive attempt to conflate the two songs. Many considered the Royal March "long winded and gaudy", and these faults were thrown into sharp relief by back-to-back ceremonial presentations.Katz, Robert. 1971. 'The Fall of the House of Savoy'. Macmillan. p. 259. "Giovinezza" was used as a sign-off by Italian radio under Mussolini; after the ousting of Mussolini in 1943, the Italian radio signed off for the first time in 21 years playing only the Royal March, "Marcia Reale".Brigham, Daniel T. 26 July 1943. "Mussolini ousted with fascist cabinet." 'New York Times'.
See also
* Il Canto degli Italiani - the current Italian national anthem
* Faccetta Nera
* Horst-Wessel-Lied
* Cara al Sol
References
Buy Giovinezza now from Amazon
<-- Return to songs from 1909