Luigi Mercantini (20 September 1821 – 17 November 1872) was an Italian poet and writer, who took part in the movements for the

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

in the late 19th century. He is better known for his poem ''"La spigolatrice di Sapri"'', depicting the ill-fated expedition led in 1857 by Carlo Pisacane against the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

, which was also translated into English by Henry W. Longfellow with the title ''The Gleaner of Sapri''. Mercantini is also known for writing the lyrics of the patriotic hymn ''Canzone Italiana'', better known as the ''Garibaldi Hymn'', since it was commissioned in 1858 by Garibaldi himself to the poet, as the official battle song of his ''" Cacciatori delle Alpi"'' volunteer corps who joined in the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War, the Franco-Austrian War, or the Italian War of 1859 (Italian: ''Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana''; German: ''Sardinischer Krieg''; French: ...

the following year. The hymn's music was composed by his musician friend Alessio Olivieri, and proved hugely popular among Italians at home and abroad, famously being recorded by

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyric tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles that r ...

around the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and again used as battle hymn of some brigades of the

Italian resistance movement The Italian Resistance ( ), or simply ''La'' , consisted of all the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social Republic during the Second World War in Italy ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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''"The Gleaner of Sapri"''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercantini, Luigi 1821 births 1872 deaths Italian poets Italian male poets 19th-century Italian poets 19th-century Italian male writers

See also

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