The "Marcia Reale d'Ordinanza" (; "Royal March of Ordinance"), or "Fanfara Reale" (; "Royal Fanfare"), was the official
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 ...
of the
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
between 1861 and 1946.
[(2001). National anthems. Grove Music Online. Retrieved 7 Feb. 2024] It was composed in 1831 by Giuseppe Gabetti to the order of
Charles Albert of Sardinia
Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard state from 27 April 1831 until his abdication in 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constit ...
as the hymn of the royal
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...
, along with the
Sardinian national anthem. It remained a famous, recognizable and cherished symbol of Italy throughout the history of the monarchy.
In September 1943, the future king of Italy
Umberto II chose the patriotic song "
La Leggenda del Piave" as the new national anthem, replacing the "Marcia Reale". It remained the official anthem of Italy until June 1944; when
Rome was liberated and the government and the King returned to the capital, the Marcia Reale was in fact reintroduced as a national anthem and remained both after the appointment of
Crown Prince Umberto of Savoy as
Lieutenant General of the Realm and after his ascension to Kingship. After the
1946 Italian institutional referendum
An institutional referendum (, or ) was held by universal suffrage in the Kingdom of Italy on 2 June 1946, a key event of contemporary Italian history. Until 1946, Italy was a kingdom ruled by the House of Savoy, reigning since the unification ...
, the newly established
Italian Republic
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
selected "
Il Canto degli Italiani
"" (; ) is a patriotic song written by Goffredo Mameli and set to music by Michele Novaro in 1847, currently used as the national anthem of Italy. It is best known among Italians as the "" (; ), after the author of the lyrics, or "" (; ), from ...
" in its stead as national anthem.
Lyrics (unofficial)
See also
*
Il Canto degli Italiani
"" (; ) is a patriotic song written by Goffredo Mameli and set to music by Michele Novaro in 1847, currently used as the national anthem of Italy. It is best known among Italians as the "" (; ), after the author of the lyrics, or "" (; ), from ...
- the current
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 ...
of Italy, in use since 1946
*
Giovinezza - the Fascist anthem sung after the "Marcia Reale" between 1924 and 1943
References
{{authority control
Italian anthems
Historical national anthems
Royal anthems
National symbols of Italy
1831 songs
Italian military marches