Balilla was the nickname of Giovanni Battista Perasso (1735–1781), a Genoese boy who, according to tradition, started the against the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

forces that occupied the city in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

by throwing a stone at an Austrian official.

Story and legacy

The word is thought to mean "little boy" and is thus one of only two clues about Perasso's age (the other being an Austrian report that makes reference to "a little boy" throwing stones at officials). Legend asserts that while some Austrian soldiers were dragging an artillery piece along a muddy road in the Portoria neighbourhood of Genoa, the piece got stuck in a moat. The soldiers forced onlookers and passers-by to dislodge it, cursing and lashing them. Disgusted by the scene, Perasso allegedly grabbed a stone from the road and skilfully threw it at the Austrian patrol, asking his fellow citizens in the

Genoese dialect Genoese, locally called or (), is the prestige dialect of Ligurian, spoken in and around the Italian city of Genoa, the capital of Liguria. A majority of remaining speakers of Genoese are elderly. Several associations are dedicated to keeping ...

: "" ("Am I to begin?" or "Shall I start?"), which set in motion an uproar which eventually caused the Austrian garrison to be evicted from the city. The phrase became proverbial in Italian as well. For his supposed age and revolutionary activity, Perasso became a symbol of the struggle of the Italian people for independence and unification. Conversely, accounts of the sack of Genoa by Royal Piedmontese troops in 1849 mention soldiers running through the streets and shouting, "Genoese people are all ''Balilla'', they do not deserve compassion, we must kill them all!". Later on, Italy's Fascist Government named the Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB), a school-grade scouting-paramilitary

youth organization The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for Minor (law), minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted othe ...

, after him. Accordingly, the anthem of the ONB began with the verse "" ("The stone whistles..."). Several types of the Fiat 508 car, produced during the 1930s, were also named for Balilla (Fiat 508 Balilla, Fiat 508S Balilla Coppa d'Oro, Fiat 508 Balilla Sport, Fiat 508 Balilla Spider Militare). An Italian fighter plane designed in 1917, the Ansaldo A.1, was named Balilla. He is also mentioned in 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 European ...

, "", composed in 1847: "" ("The children of Italy / are all named ''Balilla''").

Italian Navy submarines

Two

Italian navy The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active per ...

submarines were named ''Balilla'': *The former German U42 which was building at the

FIAT Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

yard in La Spezia when Italy entered World War I. It was sunk in 1916. *The nameship of the ''Balilla'' class submarines, laid up in 1941 and scrapped after World War II.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balilla 1735 births 1781 deaths 1746 in Italy 1746 in military history Child soldiers 18th-century Genoese people Artillery of Austria-Hungary Italian people of the War of the Austrian Succession