Ieri e oggi
A boy with a dream
He died at 22, but millions still sing his words
Every time Gli Azzurri step onto the field, every time a national holiday fills the piazzas, the melody rises up: Fratelli d'Italia, the Italian national anthem. So you've probably heard it; but do you know the story behind it?
It started with a boy named Goffredo Mameli.
Mameli was just a 20-year-old student from Genoa when he wrote the words to what would become Italy's anthem. This was in 1847, a time when Italy didn't even exist yet as a country. His words were part of a dream, meant to be a rallying cry, written by a young man who believed so completely in a united Italy that he didn't just stick to pen and paper; he also picked up a rifle and went to fight for it.
Sadly, he never saw his dream come true. Mameli died in Rome in 1849, at 22, from a wound sustained while defending the Roman Republic against French troops. Like many others during those years, that particular episode ended in failure; Italy wouldn't become officially united for another twelve years.
But he would undoubtedly be proud that his words survived everything — rebellions, a monarchy, wars, fascism, a republic — and are still sung today with the kind of feeling that bypasses the brain entirely and goes straight to the chest.
Not bad for a 20-something student from Genoa.
