English: The Legend of Piave | |
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A woman, representing Italy, celebrates the Italian victory over Austria-Hungary in the First World War with a tricolour over the newly conquered city of Trieste. | |
National anthem of Kingdom of Italy | |
Lyrics | E. A. Mario, 1918 |
Music | E. A. Mario, 1918 |
Adopted | September 1943 27 April 1946 |
Relinquished | June 1944 October 1947 |
Preceded by | "Marcia Reale" (1943) |
Succeeded by | "Marcia Reale" (1944) Inno di Mameli(1947) |
Audio sample | |
La Leggenda del Piave |
"La Leggenda del Piave" (lit. 'The Legend of Piave'), also known as "La Canzone del Piave" (lit. 'The Song of Piave'), is an Italian patriotic song written by E. A. Mario after the Second Battle of the Piave River in June 1918. In September 1943, the future king of Italy Umberto II chose it 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 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 elevation to King. After the 1946 Italian institutional referendum, the newly established Italian Republic selected "Il Canto degli Italiani" in its stead. Today, the song is popular in Italy and played by a military band on National Unity and Armed Forces Day (November 4).