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“Il Canto degli Italiani“ (“The Song of the Italians“) is the national anthem of Italy. It is best known among Italians as “Inno di Mameli“ (“Mameli's Hymn“), after the author of the lyrics, or “Fratelli d'Italia“ (“Brothers of Italy“), from its opening line. The words were written in the autumn of 1847 in Genoa, by the then 20-year-old student and patriot Goffredo Mameli. Two months later, they were set to music in Turin by another Genoese, Michele Novaro. The hymn enjoyed widespread popularity throughout the period of the Risorgimento and in the following decades. Nevertheless, after the Italian Unification in 1871, the adopted national anthem was the “Marcia Reale“ (Royal March), the official hymn of the House of Savoy composed in 1831 by order of King Charles Albert of Sardinia. After the Second World War, Italy became a republic, and on 12 October 1946, “Il Canto degli Italiani“ was provisionally chosen as the country's new national anthem. This choice was made official in law only on 23 November 2012.
