"" ("The Sardinian National Anthem"), also known by its
incipit
The incipit ( ) of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of Musical note, notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin an ...
as "" ("God Save the King"), was the national anthem of the
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...
under
Savoyard rule and 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 ...
.
History
Dating back to the 1830s, the anthem was written in the
Logudorese dialect
Logudorese Sardinian (, ) is one of the two written standards of the Sardinian language, which is often considered one of the most, if not the most conservative of all Romance languages. The orthography is based on the spoken dialects of centra ...
of
Sardinian by the
Sardinian priest Vittorio Angius, who became secular in 1842. The music was composed by a maestro from
Sassari
Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...
, Giovanni Gonella (1804–1854), who was also the musician of the ''Brigata Regina''. The anthem was first performed at the Cagliari Civic Theatre on 20 February 1844.
The original score was found in the archives of the Music Auditorium in
Cagliari
Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...
by Prof.
Francesco Cesare Casula, then head of Institute of History of Mediterranean Europe (ISEM) of Italy's
National Research Council (CNR). According to Casula, the official hymn was held in high regard by the rulers from the Italian mainland in Piedmont. On the express wishes of
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albania ...
, it was officially performed for the last time in 1937, by the choir of the
Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel ( ; ; ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and ...
, the Director of which being Lorenzo Perosi, when the
Golden Rose
The Golden Rose (, ) is a gold ornament, which popes of the Catholic Church have traditionally blessed annually. It is occasionally conferred as a token of reverence or affection. Recipients have included churches and sanctuaries, royalty, mili ...
was conferred to
Queen Elena by Pope
Pius XI
Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...
.
The anthem was ''
de facto'' replaced by the Italian Royal March of Ordinance
("") as early as 1861, but it would lose its formal status only in 1946, when the monarchy was definitely abolished and "" ("The Chant of Italians") was chosen as the provisional national anthem of the newly proclaimed
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 ...
.
In 1991, "" was performed by the
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...
Music Band at the
Quirinal Palace
The Quirinal Palace ( ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, the main official residence of the President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporziano, an estate on the outs ...
on 29 May, in accordance with the traditional way the foreign diplomatic corps was received. It was meant to pay homage to the Sardinian origin of
Francesco Cossiga
Francesco Maurizio Cossiga (; , ; 1928 – 2010)
.
, then
President of the Republic. It was played again when Cossiga resigned from such position on 28 April 1992.
In 2001, the anthem was performed on the occasion of the funeral of
Marie José of Belgium, the last
queen of Italy.
Lyrics
The anthem is entirely written in
Sardinian language
Sardinian or Sard ( , , , , or , ) is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken by the Sardinians on the Western Mediterranean island of Sardinia.
The original character of the Sardinian language among the Romance idioms has long been know ...
, and more specifically the
Logudorese dialect
Logudorese Sardinian (, ) is one of the two written standards of the Sardinian language, which is often considered one of the most, if not the most conservative of all Romance languages. The orthography is based on the spoken dialects of centra ...
.
See also
*"", an antifeudal song, now the official anthem of Sardinia
References
{{Former anthems of Europe
Music in Sardinia
Historical national anthems
19th-century songs
Italian anthems
*