Italy makes tiny tweak to its anthem, deleting just one word

Italy has quietly made a small change to its national anthem, removing a single word.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Now over to Italy, where the national anthem has undergone a small but meaningful change.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL GROUP: (Singing in Italian).

MARTÍNEZ: Italy's government has removed one word from its rousing call to arms. It was written by a young patriot named Goffredo Mameli. This was back in 1847, when what we know today as Italy was a patchwork of separate states.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Mameli's hymn called on Italians to unify, proclaiming, we are ready to die. Italy has called. Over time, performers added a short declarative si - or yes - at the end.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IL CANTO DEGLI ITALIANI")

CHIARA TAIGI: (Singing in Italian).

MARTIN: Now that added word - si - is gone from the official version.

LEOLUCA ORLANDO: The word si - yes - was just to strengthen.

MARTÍNEZ: Leoluca Orlando is a member of the European Parliament and the former mayor of Palermo, Italy. He says the hymn reflected a spirit of fiery nationalism.

ORLANDO: The text of the song was the mirror of the century. It was 1847. It means it was the century of the resurgence. It was the century of independence.

MARTIN: Orlando echoes the office of Italy's president, Sergio Mattarella. In a statement, it said removing the word si restores the original lyrics and was not done for political reasons. Orlando adds that Italy is in a much less fractious place now compared to when the anthem was written.

ORLANDO: The age two century ago is different than today. I hope not to live in a place where every country is in war against the others. I wish just to abolish the borders. I wish just to let the people live united and welcome everybody.

MARTÍNEZ: Orlando stopped short of saying Italy needs a new national anthem, and he says he still stands and places his hand over his heart when he hears it.

ORLANDO: It's not the best music we have in Italy. Of course, we have other musicians that are really, really, much more acclaimed. But it is a tradition.

MARTIN: A tradition, he says, that is likely to continue - maybe even for another century or two.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing in Italian).

Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.