Goffredo Mameli (; 5 September 1827 – 6 July 1849) was an Italian patriot, poet, writer and a notable figure in the

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

. He is also the author of the lyrics of "

Il Canto degli Italiani "" (; "The Song of the Italians") is a canto written by Goffredo Mameli set to music by Michele Novaro in 1847, and is the current national anthem of Italy. It is best known among Italians as the "" (, "Mameli's Hymn"), after the author of the ...

", the national anthem of Italy.

Biography

The son of an aristocratic Sardinian

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

, Mameli was from

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

where he was born, and where his father was in command of the

fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...

of the Kingdom of Sardinia. At the age of seven he was sent to Sardinia, to his grandfather's place, to escape the risk of

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium '' Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting an ...

, but soon came back to Genoa to complete his studies. The achievements of Mameli's very short life are concentrated in only two years, during which time he played major parts in insurrectional movements and the

. In 1847 Mameli joined the ''Società Entelema'', a cultural movement that soon would have turned to a political movement, and here he became interested in the theories of

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...

. Mameli is mostly known as the author of the lyrics of the Italian

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

, ''

'' (music by

Michele Novaro Michele Novaro (; 23 December 1818 – 20 October 1885) was an Italian composer. Novaro was born on 23 December 1818 in Genoa, where he studied composition and singing. Novaro is mostly known as the composer of the music of the Italian nati ...

), better known in Italy as ''Inno di Mameli'' (Mameli's Hymn). These lyrics were used for the first time in November 1847, celebrating King

Charles Albert of Sardinia Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Statuto Albertino, Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian ...

in his visit to Genoa after his first reforms. Mameli's lyrics to a "hymn of the people" —" Suona la tromba"— were set by

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

the following year. Mameli was deeply involved in nationalist movements and some more "spectacular" actions are remembered, such as his exposition of the '' Tricolore'' (current Italian flag, then prohibited) to celebrate the expulsion of

Austrians , pop = 8–8.5 million , regions = 7,427,759 , region1 = , pop1 = 684,184 , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 = 345,620 , ref2 = , region3 = , pop3 = 197,990 , ref3 ...

in 1846. Yet, he was with Nino Bixio (

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pat ...

's later major supporter and friend) in a committee for public health, already on a clear Mazzinian position. In March 1848, hearing of the insurrection in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, Mameli organised an expedition with 300 other patriots, joined Bixio's troops that were already on site, and entered the town. He was then admitted to Garibaldi's irregular army (really the volunteer brigade of general Torres), as a captain, and met Mazzini. Back in Genoa, he worked more on a literary side, wrote several hymns and other compositions, he became the director of the newspaper ''Diario del Popolo'' ("People's Daily"), and promoted a press campaign for a war against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. In December 1848 Mameli reached Rome, where

Pellegrino Rossi Pellegrino Luigi Odoardo Rossi (13 July 1787 – 15 November 1848) was an Italian economist, politician and jurist. He was an important figure of the July Monarchy in France, and the minister of justice in the government of the Papal States, unde ...

had been murdered, helping in the clandestine works for declaration (9 February 1849) of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

. Mameli then went to

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

where he proposed the creation of a common state between

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

and

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil ( Old Latium) on w ...

. In April 1849 he was again in Genoa, with Bixio, where a popular insurrection was strongly opposed by General

Alberto La Marmora Alberto Ferrero La Marmora (or Della Marmora; 7 April 1789 – 18 March 1863) was an Italian soldier and naturalist. He was elder brother to Alessandro Ferrero La Marmora, soldier and founder of the Bersaglieri, and to Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora, ...

. Mameli soon left again for Rome, where the French had come to support the

Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

(

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

had actually escaped from the town) and took active part in the combat.

Death

During the siege of Rome, he was an aide of

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pa ...

, who fought in Palestrina (9 May) and in Velletri (19 May). In particular he fought in the defense of the Villa del Vascello on the

Janiculum The Janiculum (; it, Gianicolo ), occasionally the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among t ...

hill. He was wounded in the left leg by the French during the last assault of 3 June at

Villa Corsini The Villa Doria Pamphili is a seventeenth-century villa with what is today the largest landscaped public park in Rome, Italy. It is located in the quarter of Monteverde, on the '' Gianicolo'' (or the Roman Janiculum), just outside the Porta San Pa ...

, occupied by the French. However, there is a theory that he was accidentally wounded by the

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

of a fellow soldier. Mameli suffered from

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the gan ...

, which doctor Pietro Maestri observed after four days. After a consultation with Maestri and other doctors, it was decided to amputate the leg, performed by surgeon Paolo Maria Raffaello Baroni. Despite this, the infection gradually increased to the point of causing death by

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

, on 6 July 1849, at the age of 21, in the hospice of Trinità dei Pellegrini. He was originally buried at

Campo Verano The Campo Verano (Italian: ''Cimitero del Verano'') is a cemetery in Rome, Italy, founded in the early 19th century. The monumental cemetery is currently divided into sections: the Jewish cemetery, the Catholic cemetery, and the monument to t ...

in Rome, however, his remains were moved to the Mausoleo Ossario del Gianicolo in 1941.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mameli, Goffredo 1827 births 1849 deaths Writers from Genoa 19th-century Italian poets Italian male poets People of the Revolutions of 1848 Italian people of the Italian unification National anthem writers 19th-century Italian writers Accidental deaths in Italy 19th-century Italian male writers Burials at Campo Verano Italian deists