Il Canto degli Italiani (The Song of the Italians) is the Italian national anthem. It is best known among Italians as Inno di Mameli (Mameli's Hymn) or Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy). The words were written by Goffredo Mameli, and two months later, they were set to music by Michele Navarro. After unification (1861) the adopted national anthem was the Marcia Reale, the Royal March (or Fanfara Reale), official hymn of the royal house of Savoy composed in 1831 to order of Carlo Alberto di Savoia. The Marcia Reale remained the Italian national anthem until the Italy became a republic in 1946. In 1946 Italy became a republic, and on October 12, 1946, Il Canto degli Italiani was provisionally chosen as the country's new national anthem. This choice was made official in law only on November 17, 2005, almost 60 years later. So I guess the Mayberrians should've sung either the Il Canto... or the Royal March, but the Il Canto wasn't official until 6 years ago!!! : ) Lisa _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
