Giovinezza Posted by Serena on Sep 9, 2010 in Uncategorized
Looking through some family photos the other day, I came across one of my father taken in 1930 in which he is proudly wearing the uniform of the Balilla (Opera Nazionale Balilla or ONB, Mussolini’s paramilitary fascist youth group). For more info see this link: Opera Nazionale Balilla
My father, who is now 89, remembers those innocent days of his youth with a tinge of nostalgia. One of his most enduring memories is of the time that he was taken to Rome with other Balilla cadets to be led into the huge imposing office of ‘Il Duce’ (Mussolini), in order to be presented to the great man himself!
My father’s photo seems to sum up perfectly the song Giovinezza (Youth), which was the unofficial inno dalla patria (national anthem) of Italy from 1924 to 1943 during the years of the fascist regime.
The original Giovinezza, however, was actually a student song entitled Il Commiato (The Farewell) or Inno dei Laureandi (The Graduates Hymn), with lyrics by Nino Oxilia and music composed by Giuseppe Blanc. Very popular at the beginning of the last century, Giovinezza was sung by graduates at the university of Torino both as a nostalgic farewell to their carefree student life, and as a celebration of their vigor, youth and boldness.
Here are the original lyrics:
|
Son finiti i giorni lieti |
The pleasant days are finished of studies and of loves oh companions lift up your hearts and let’s say farewell to the past |
|
È la vita una battaglia, |
Life is a battle, the road is paved with tricks, but we are strong, we’re twenty years old, we don’t fear the future |
|
Giovinezza, giovinezza, |
Youth, youth, spring of beauty! In the hardship of life, your song rings and goes! |
Over the years, the lyrics were rewritten several times, becoming increasingly patriotic until in 1924 Mussolini commissioned a new set of lyrics from Salvator Gotta. If you’re feeling brave, you may wish to read them!:
|
Salve o popolo d’eroi |
Hail, people of heroes, |
|
Il valor dei tuoi guerrieri, |
Your warriors’ valour, |
|
Giovinezza, Giovinezza, |
Youth, Youth, |
|
E per Benito Mussolini, |
And for Benito Mussolini, |
|
Dell’Italia nei confini |
In the Italian borders, |
|
Per la gloria del lavoro |
For labor’s glory, |
|
I Poeti e gli artigiani |
The poets and the artisans, |
|
Non v’è povero quartiere |
There’s no poor suburb |
During the fascist years Giovinezza was played at public gatherings, sporting
events, in cinemas, and so on, and there were often unpleasant consequences for those who didn’t remove their hats and join in. In fact, Mussolini’s Blackshirts were always ready to ‘rough up’ those, including foreigners, who didn’t show the proper respect.
In the 1930s, Giovinezza became the official inno of the Italian army, and the school day was required to begin with either Giovinezza, or Balilla, which was the official song of the ONB.
The metamorphosis of Giovinezza gives us a fascinating insight into the social and political development of Italy in the first half of the 20th century.
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Comments:
A Miksak:
vorrei ascoltare la melodia. e’ possibile?
serena:
@A Miksak Salve A Miksak, if you go to this web page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovinezza and scroll down to the bottom where it says ‘External Links’, you will be able to listen to the melody of Giovinezza.
Saluti da Serena
Jeannet:
Salve Serena,
Thank you very much for this interesting bloc.
The picture of your father was taken in 1940?
That carefree student life of those days nowadays
isn’t so carefree any more. (?)
What remains is:
Spring of beauty! (not to forget) in the hardship of life.
Friendly greetings,
Jeannet
serena:
@Jeannet Ciao Jeannet, my father was born in 1921 and the photo that I found was taken in 1930 when he was 9 years old.
A presto, Serena
Vince Mooney:
Salve Serena:
Reading this post gave me — for the first time — an appreciation for why Plato wanted to ban poets from the Republic.
How could anyone sing these lines with any joy:
Li ha rifatti Mussolini
Per la guerra di domain
Does ‘la guerra’ mean more than real war? Does it mean something like ‘the battles we will face in the future’?
Also, can’t ‘i figli’ in the below line
Son rinati i figli tuoi
Mean ‘sons and daughters’ or ‘children’? Is it custom to use ‘sons’ or do you just know it means sons in this context?
I just love your posts. I never know what to expect except that each post will be interesting in a different way.
Thanks,
Vince
serena:
@Vince Mooney Salve Vince, I agree that it’s difficult to read certain lyrics without feeling a bit queasy, however they are interesting as they illustrate the mentality of a particular period in history.
As for ‘guerra’, yes, it can mean more than just ‘war’, it can mean battle, or the tribulations that we have to face, etc.
The masculine plural word ‘figli’ is normally used to mean ‘children’. In fact, the traditional question for ‘how many children do you have?’ is: ‘Quanti figli ha?’
Grazie per i complimenti!
Serena
William Auge:
Salve Serena, Grazie per il blog molto interessante. Buona comprensione dei giorni bui del secolo scorso. Ho visto una chiesa moderna fuori dei muri di Lucca. Davanti della chiesa e’ una lista dei parrocchiani chi sono morto nella seconda querro mondiale. Mi ha recordato della sufferenza terribile quelli tutti lati si sentono in guerro.
auguri da William
serena:
@William Auge Salve william, le guerre, di qualunque natura siano, portano sempre sofferenze, specialmente per la popolazione civile, ma continuiamo a farle!
Saluti da Serena
Barbara:
Dear Serena,
Thank you for this and all you articles.
They are very interesting always!
serena:
@Barbara Grazie Barbara per i complimenti.
A presto, Serena
Jeannet:
Ciao Serena,
I placed my question “your father was born in 1940?” because he was wearing the uniform
of the Balilla Mussolini’s paramilitary fascist youth group, in service 19 years old) But seemingly he was only very proud -9 years young- wearing the uniform.
Saluti di Jeannet
serena:
@Jeannet Ciao Jeanett, have a look at the link I gave at the top of my blog to a wiki page about the Balilla. There you will see:
‘Balilla (boys) and Piccole Italiane (girls) – ages 8 to 14
Avanguardisti and Giovani Italiane – 14 to 18’
A presto, Serena