{"id":9263,"date":"2015-05-25T18:30:27","date_gmt":"2015-05-25T16:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=9263"},"modified":"2015-05-25T18:30:27","modified_gmt":"2015-05-25T16:30:27","slug":"la-canzone-del-piave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/la-canzone-del-piave\/","title":{"rendered":"La Canzone del Piave"},"content":{"rendered":"

My grandparents used to live in Via XXIV Maggio<\/strong> (24th of May Road), and that date was an enigma for me in my childhood days. \u201cWhat is the importance of the 24th of May?\u201d I used to ask myself, \u201c There are lots of important dates in May: dad\u2019s birthday is on the 6th, dad and mum\u2019s wedding anniversary is on the 3rd, Mother\u2019s Day is on the second Sunday of May, but the 24th?\u201d Well, it was many years before I understood the answer.<\/p>\n

On the 24th of May 1915, almost a year after the start of WWI, Italy entered the conflict by declaring war on Austria. La Grande Guerra<\/strong> (The Great War) is generally considered to be the \u2018Fourth Italian War of Independence\u2019 because it achieved the annexation to Italy of the north-eastern regions of Trentino Alto Adige<\/strong> and Friuli Venezia Giulia<\/strong>, which up until then were still part of the Austro Hungarian Empire.<\/p>\n

\"La<\/a>

“Tutti Eroi! O il Piave o tutti accoppati”
<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The river Piave runs north of Venice and at the time it marked the border between the newly born Italian kingdom and the Austro Hungarian Empire. On the dawn of the 24th of May the Italian army crossed the river and began their attack on the Austrian army. The Piave is the main \u2018protagonist\u2019 of a famous WWI song, La Canzone del Piave<\/strong> (The Song of the Piave), also known as La Leggenda del Piave<\/strong> (The Legend of the Piave), written by the Neapolitan composer Giovanni Gaeta<\/strong> during the final months of the war.<\/p>\n

This famous song succinctly describes the main advances and retreats of the two armies during the 1915-1918 conflict as witnessed by the river Piave, which is depicted as an active participant in the war. The first stanza of the song describes the crossing of the Piave by the Italian infantry. In the second stanza we hear about the tragic defeat of the Italian army at the battle of Caporetto<\/strong> (now in Slovenia), which was fought in November 1917. The third stanza describes the resistance of the Italian army along the banks of the Piave, their final defensive line. And the last stanza, written immediately after the war, celebrates the Italian victory against the Austrians.<\/p>\n

La Canzone del Piave<\/strong> immediately became very popular, and remained so for many years. In fact it was the Italian national anthem between the 8th of September 1943 (end of the Fascist era and of the alliance between Italy and Germany in the second World War), and 1946, when the Italian Republic was born. Here are the lyrics:<\/p>\n

\"piave-001\"<\/a>

Click on the photo above to listen to the song ‘La Canzone del Piave’<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

La Canzone del Piave di Giovanni Gaeta<\/u><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Il Piave mormorava calmo e placido al passaggio
\ndei primi fanti il ventiquattro maggio;
\nl’esercito marciava per raggiunger la frontiera
\nper far contro il nemico una barriera…
\nMuti passaron quella notte i fanti:
\ntacere bisognava andare avanti.
\nS’udiva intanto dalle amate sponde,
\nsommesso e lieve il mormorio dell’onde.
\nEra un presagio dolce e lusinghiero.
\nIl Piave mormor\u00f2: non passa lo straniero!<\/span><\/p>\n

Ma in una notte trista si parl\u00f2 di un fosco evento
\ne il Piave udiva l’ira e lo sgomento.
\nAhi, quanta gente ha vista venir gi\u00f9 lasciare il tetto,
\npoi che il nemico irruppe a Caporetto!
\nProfughi ovunque! Dai lontani monti,
\nvenivano a gremir tutti i suoi ponti.
\nS’udiva allor dalle violate sponde
\nsommesso e tristo il mormorar dell’onde.
\nCome un singhiozzo, in quell’autunno nero,
\nil Piave mormor\u00f2: ritorna lo straniero!<\/span><\/p>\n

E ritorn\u00f2 il nemico: per l’orgoglio e per la fame
\nvolea sfogare tutte le sue brame…
\nVedeva il piano aprico di lass\u00f9: voleva ancora
\nsfamarsi e tripudiare come allora!
\n– No – disse il Piave. – No, – dissero i fanti –
\nmai pi\u00f9 il nemico faccia un passo avanti!
\nSi vide il Piave rigonfiar le sponde!
\nE, come i fanti, combattevan l’onde…
\nRosso di sangue del nemico altero,
\nil Piave comand\u00f2: indietro, va’, straniero!<\/span><\/p>\n

Indietreggi\u00f2 il nemico fino a Trieste, fino a Trento
\nE la Vittoria sciolse l’ali al vento!
\nFu sacro il patto antico: tra le schiere, furon visti
\nrisorgere Oberdan, Sauro, Battisti!
\nInfranse, alfin, l’italico valore
\nle forche e l’armi dell’impiccatore!
\nSicure l’Alpi, libere le sponde
\nSi tacque il Piave, si placaron l’onde.
\nSul patrio suolo, vinti i torvi Imperi,
\nla Pace non trov\u00f2 n\u00e9 oppressi n\u00e9 stranieri!<\/span><\/p>\n

You can find an English translation by clicking on this link: First World War – La Leggenda del Piave<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

My grandparents used to live in Via XXIV Maggio (24th of May Road), and that date was an enigma for me in my childhood days. \u201cWhat is the importance of the 24th of May?\u201d I used to ask myself, \u201c There are lots of important dates in May: dad\u2019s birthday is on the 6th, dad…<\/p>\n

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