Fischia Il Vento

"Fischia il vento" ("The Wind Whistles") is an Italian popular song whose text was written in late 1943, at the inception of the Resistance. The tune is based on the Russian song "Katyusha". Along with "Bella ciao" it is one of the most famous songs celebrating the Italian resistance, the anti-fascist movement that fought the forces that occupied Italy during World War II.

History

The song was broadcast after 8 September 1943 between the high valley of Andora - Stellanello in ''Passu du Beu'' behind the Pizzo d'Evigno and afterwards above Curenna, in the "Casone dei Crovi", in the high Valley of Albenga, where the partisan squad led by Felice Cascione took refuge. During that period there were still no partisan songs; therefore, people sang old communist and socialist songs: ''L'Internazionale'', ''La guardia rossa'', ''Bandiera rossa'' or the song of anarchic origin ''Addio Lugano Bella'', transformed into ''Addio Imperia Bella'', ''Vieni o maggio'' (o ''Canzone del maggio''), on the melody of "Nabucco".

Giacomo Sibilla, battle name ''Ivan'', survivor of the campaign of Russia, joined the partisan squad led by Felice Cascione, where he was added into the 2nd Regiment Genio Pontieri. In the region of Don, ''Ivan'' had known Russian prisoners and women, and from them he learned the song Katyusha. ''Ivan'' brought it with him to Italy, and in the Passu du Beu he sketched a few verses together with Vittorio Rubicone, ''Vittorio il Biondo''. Then the commander Cascione intervened. Together with Silvano Alterisio, battle name ''Vassili'', and other comrades the verses written by Felice some time prior were adapted to the Russian melody. Recently the "casone" where ''u Megu'' and his comrades began writing the famous song was rediscovered. The composition was terminated in the ''Casone dei Crovi'', a location not too distant from the Monte Peso Grande, occupied by partisans in the beginning of the winter of 1943.

Debut

The song was sung for the first time in Curenna, fraction of Vendone, in Christmas 1943, but it was broadcast officially in Alto, in the square in front of the church, the day of Epiphany 1944. Three weeks after Felice Cascione was killed in battle by nazifascists, and his squad carried his name from that moment on. Right after, this partisan nucleus got larger, and even the twenty-year-old Italo Calvino, living in Sanremo, joined that group with the battle name ''Santiago'', since he was born in Cuba in Santiago de las Vegas. Afterwards ''Fischia il Vento'' officially became the anthem of the Brigate Partigiane Garibaldi.

In the original lyrics the verse "eppur bisogna andar" ("but we must march on") was actually "eppur bisogna ardir" ("but we must dare"), as documented in the book by Giorgio Pagano, with the title taken from the original verse.

Sample lyrics

Recordings

*1965 Milva on the album ''Canti della libertà''
*1993 Modena City Ramblers on the album ''Combat Folk''
*1995 Skiantos on the VV. AA. album compilation ''Materiale Resistente 1945-1995'' and reprinted on their 2004 album ''Rarities''
*2003 Banda Bassotti on the album ''Así es mi vida''
*2009 P38Punk on the album ''Fischia il vento (singolo)''
*2010 Talco on the album ''10 Years''
*2013 Kenobit on the album ''Kenobit''
*2013 NH3
*2016 Greta Olm

In Films

* The song was featured in the 2003 Italian film Buongiorno, Notte, in which several characters involved in the resistance movement sang it at a celebratory event.
* The song and music appeared in the 2023 mini-series The Lying Life of Adults (TV series), where it is associated with Neapolitan communists.

See also

* – another Italian partisan song
* – another Italian revolutionary song
* – another Italian partisan song
* - A Yiddish partisan song popularized during WW2

References

External links

Fischia il vento
from ''Canzoniere ANPI''

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Italian patriotic songs
1943 songs
Italian resistance movement
Communism in Italy
Songs of World War II
Italian partisan songs

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