| English: The Legend of Piave | |
|---|---|
 A woman,representing Italy, celebrates the Italian victory overAustria-Hungary in theFirst World War with atricolour over the newly conquered city ofTrieste. | |
National anthem ofKingdom of Italy | |
| Lyrics | E. A. Mario, 1918 |
| Music | E. A. Mario, 1918 |
| Adopted | September 1943 |
| Relinquished | June 1944 |
| Preceded by | "Marcia Reale" (1943) |
| Succeeded by | "Marcia Reale" (1944) |
"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 byE. A. Mario after theSecond Battle of the Piave River in June 1918. In September 1943, the future king of ItalyUmberto II chose it as the new national anthem, replacing the "Marcia Reale". It remained the official anthem of Italy until June 1944; whenRome 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 ofCrown Prince Umberto of Savoy asLieutenant General of the Realm and after his elevation to King. After the1946 Italian institutional referendum, the newly establishedItalian Republic selected "Il Canto degli Italiani" in its stead. Today, the song is popular in Italy and played by a military band onNational Unity and Armed Forces Day (November 4).
The song is divided in four parts and presents a brief history of the Italian front duringWorld War I.
| Italian[1] |
|---|
| Il Piave mormorava Calmo e placido al passaggio Ma in una notte trista E ritornò il nemico Indietreggiò il nemico |
The song was executed for the first time at the end of the battle held on June 23, 1918. GeneralArmando Diaz addressed a personal telegram to the author to thank him for his musical contribution to the military victory of the Italian army.[2]
In the years followingWorld War I, the song became an anthem dedicated to the resistance during the war.
E. A. Mario refused to gain money from "La Leggenda del Piave". In November 1941, he donated his and his wife's wedding rings along with the first 100 gold medals he received as a tribute for this song by the towns along the river Piave, war veterans' associations, and private citizens to the "Gold for the Fatherland" initiative.[3]
"La Leggenda del Piave" was one of the candidates to become the anthem of the new Italian Republic. However, "Il Canto degli Italiani" was chosen instead.
Today, "La Leggenda del Piave" is still widely popular and is commonly played during official ceremonies to remember the fallen and the final victory.