Who wrote the lyrics of Italy’s national anthem, “Il Canto degli Italiani”?

Goffredo Mameli wrote the lyrics of Italy’s national anthem, “Il Canto degli Italiani.”

Mameli wrote the patriotic poem in Genoa in 1847, when enthusiasm for Italian unification was growing. Michele Novaro composed the music soon afterward. The song became widely known by its opening words, “Fratelli d’Italia,” meaning “Brothers of Italy.”

The anthem was strongly associated with the Risorgimento, the movement that led to the unification of Italy. After the Second World War and the establishment of the Italian Republic, it was provisionally adopted as the national anthem in 1946.

Italy formally confirmed “Il Canto degli Italiani” as its national anthem through legislation in 2017. Giuseppe Verdi was an important Italian composer, but he did not write this anthem’s words or music.