"La Leggenda del Piave" is an Italian patriotic song written by E. A. Mario after the Battle of the Piave River

Battle of the Piave River

The Battle of the Piave River , known in Italy as Battaglia del Solstizio , Battaglia di Mezzo Giugno , or Seconda Battaglia del Piave , was a decisive victory for the Italian Army during World War...

 in June 1918.

Text

The song is divided in four parts and is a brief history of the Italian front during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

1. The march of the Italian army in May 1915 from Veneto
   Veneto
   Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
   
    to the frontline.
2. The Italian defeat at Caporetto.
3. The resistance along the Piave river
   Battle of the Piave River
   The Battle of the Piave River , known in Italy as Battaglia del Solstizio , Battaglia di Mezzo Giugno , or Seconda Battaglia del Piave , was a decisive victory for the Italian Army during World War...
   
   .
4. The final battle
   Battle of Vittorio Veneto
   The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought between 24 October and 3 November 1918, near Vittorio Veneto, during the Italian Campaign of World War I...
   
    and the end of the war.

Lyrics

Italian lyrics Il Piave mormorava calmo e placido al passaggio dei primi fanti il ventiquattro Maggio. L'esercito marciava per raggiunger la frontiera, per far contro il nemico una barriera. Muti passaron quella notte i fanti: tacere bisognava e andare avanti. S'udiva intanto dalle amate sponde sommesso e lieve il tripudiar dell'onde. Era un presagio dolce e lusinghiero: il Piave mormorò "Non passa lo straniero!". Ma in una notte triste si parlò di tradimento e il Piave udiva l'ira e lo sgomento. Ahi, quanta gente ha vista venir giù, lasciare il tetto per l'onta consumata a Caporetto. Profughi ovunque dai lontani monti venivano a gremir tutti i suoi ponti! S'udiva allor dalle violate sponde sommesso e triste il mormorio dell'onde. Come un singhiozzo in quell'autunno nero il Piave mormorò "Ritorna lo straniero!". E ritornò il nemico per l'orgoglio e per la fame: voleva sfogar tutte le sue brame. Vedeva il piano aprico di lassù, voleva ancora sfamarsi e tripudiare come allora. "No!" disse il Piave, "No!" dissero i fanti, "Mai più il nemico faccia un passo avanti!". Si vide il Piave rigonfiar le sponde, e come i fanti combattevan l'onde. Rosso del sangue del nemico altero, il Piave comandò "Indietro va', straniero!". Indietreggiò il nemico fino a Trieste, fino a Trento, e la vittoria sciolse le ali al vento. Fu sacro il patto antico, fra le schiere furon visti risorgere Oberdan, Sauro e Battisti. Infranse alfin l'italico valore le forche e l'armi dell'impiccatore. Sicure l'Alpi, libere le sponde, e tacque il Piave, si placaron l'onde. Sul patrio suolo, vinti i torvi imperi, la pace non trovò né oppressi né stranieri.

English translation The Piave Piave River Piave is a river in north Italy. It begins in the Alps and flows southeast for into the Adriatic Sea near the city of Venice....  whispered calm and placid during the crossing of the first infantrymen on 24 May; the army marched on to reach the frontier to make a wall against the enemy. the silent infantrymen passed in the night they had to be silent and go forward. From the beloved river banks they heard light and low the exultation of the waves. It was a sweet and propitious omen. The Piave whispered: the foreigner shall not pass! But on a sad night, by a treason, they said, the Piave felt the wrath and the dismay. Alas, he saw so many people coming down, leaving their homes; because of the shame that had taken place in Caporetto Battle of Caporetto The Battle of Caporetto , took place from 24 October to 19 November 1917, near the town of Kobarid , on the Austro-Italian front of World War I... . Refugees everywhere, from the distant mountains, they came to crowd all his bridges. They heard from the violated river-banks light and sad the murmur of the waves Like a sob in that black autumn the Piave whispered: the foreigner is returning! And the enemy returned moved by his pride and by his hunger, he wanted to vent all his cravings. He saw the sunny plain from up there, he wanted to feed and to exult like in the past. No! the Piave said, "No!" said the infantrymen, "May the enemy never make a single step ahead!" They saw the Piave swelling from his banks and his waves were fighting like the infantrymen. Red with the blood of the haughty enemy, the Piave ordered them: "Go back, foreigner!" Then the enemy withdrew to Trieste Trieste Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city... , to Trento Trento Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino... and victory spread her wings on the air. The ancestral oath was honored; Among the ranks they saw Oberdan Guglielmo Oberdan Guglielmo Oberdan, was an Italian irredentist. He was executed after a failed attempt to assassinate Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph, thus becoming a martyr of the Italian unification movement.- Biography :He was born in the city of Trieste, then part of the Austrian Empire... , Sauro Nazario Sauro Nazario Sauro was an Austrian-born Italian irredentist and sailor.-Life:Born in Capodistria, in what was then the Austrian Littoral , he took to sailing from a very young age, and became the captain of a cargo ship when he was only 20...  and Battisti Cesare Battisti Cesare Battisti was an Italian politician who became a prominent Irrendentist at the start of the First World War.-Biography:...  resurrecting. At last the Italic courage broke the gallows tree and the weapons of the hangman. Secure the Alps, free the shores, the Piave was silent,the waves appeased. Once the grim empires were defeated, On the motherland's soil, the grim empires vanquished, peace found neither oppressed people nor foreigners.

Impact

E. A. Mario refused to gain money from La leggenda del Piave, and in November 1941 he donated his and his wife's wedding rings, and the first 100 gold medals he had 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.

In 1946, following the birth of Italian Republic La leggenda del Piave was one of the candidates to become the hymn of the new Italian republic but Fratelli D'Italia

Fratelli d'Italia

The phrase Fratelli d'Italia can refer to:* The Italian national anthem, "Il Canto degli Italiani".* Fratelli d'Italia, a 1989 film starring Sabrina Salerno.* Fratelli d'Italia, a 1952 film....

 was chosen.

In the years following World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 this song become an hymn dedicated to the resistance during the war. Today La Leggenda del Piave is still widely popular, and the song is commonly played during official ceremonies to remember the fallen and the final victory.

External links

• La Canzone del Piave played by the official band of the Italian Army
• http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/Giovanni_Martinelli_-_La_Leggenda_del_Piave.mp3 played by Giovanni Martinelli
  Giovanni Martinelli
  Giovanni Martinelli was a celebrated Italian operatic tenor. He was particularly associated with the Italian lyric-dramatic repertory, although he performed French operatic roles to great acclaim as well...
  
  (1918)