National Anthem Comparison
Italy vs San Marino
0
Shared themes
✗
Different moods
47
47 years apart
✓
Same continent
San Marino
Terra di Libertà
Comparison Analysis
Italy and San Marino, both Europe nations, take distinct approaches to their national anthems. Italy's "The Song of the Italians" was written in 1847, while San Marino's "Terra di Libertà" dates to 1894.
The two anthems take different thematic approaches. Italy's focuses on unity, battle / war, ancestors / heritage, freedom and god / faith, while San Marino's centers on .
The emotional tones differ: Italy's anthem is fierce, while San Marino's is majestic.
Italy's anthem predates San Marino's by 47 years, having been written in 1847 compared to 1894.
Shared themes
Italy
🤝 Unity ⚔ Battle / War 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage 🕊 Freedom ✝ God / Faith
San Marino
Metadata
| Italy | San Marino | |
|---|---|---|
| Written | 1847 | 1894 |
| Adopted | 1946 | 1894 |
| Lyricist | Goffredo Mameli | |
| Composer | Michele Novaro | Federico Consolo |
| Language | it | it |
| Region | Southern Europe | Southern Europe |
Lyrics Side by Side
Italy
Il Canto degli Italiani
Original
Fratelli d'Italia,
l'Italia s'è desta,
dell'elmo di Scipio
s'è cinta la testa.
Dov'è la Vittoria?
Le porga la chioma,
ché schiava di Roma
Iddio la creò.
[Chorus]
Stringiamci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte,
siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò.
Stringiamci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte,
siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò! Sì!
Noi siamo da secoli
calpesti, derisi,
perché non siam popolo,
perché siam divisi.
Raccolgaci un'unica
bandiera, una speme:
di fonderci insieme
già l'ora suonò.
[Chorus]
Uniamoci, amiamoci,
l'unione e l'amore
rivelano ai popoli
le vie del Signore.
Giuriamo far libero
il suolo natio:
uniti, per Dio,
chi vincer ci può?
[Chorus]
Dall'Alpi a Sicilia
dovunque è Legnano,
ogn'uom di Ferruccio
ha il core, ha la mano,
i bimbi d'Italia
si chiaman Balilla,
il suon d'ogni squilla
i Vespri suonò.
[Chorus]
Translation
Brothers of Italy,
Italy has awakened,
with Scipio's helmet
she has bound her head.
Where is Victory?
Let her bow down,
for God made her
a slave of Rome.
[Chorus]
Let us unite in a cohort,
we are ready to die,
we are ready to die,
Italy has called.
Let us unite in a cohort,
we are ready to die,
we are ready to die,
Italy has called! Yes!
For centuries we have been
trampled upon, mocked,
because we are not one people,
because we are divided.
Let one flag, one hope
gather us all:
the hour has struck
for us to unite.
[Chorus]
Let us unite, let us love one another,
for union and love
reveal to the peoples
the ways of the Lord.
Let us swear to set free
our native land:
united, by God,
who can defeat us?
[Chorus]
From the Alps to Sicily
everywhere is Legnano,
every man has the heart
and hand of Ferruccio,
the children of Italy
are called Balilla,
every church bell tolled
the Vespers.
[Chorus]
San Marino
Terra di Libertà
Instrumental (no lyrics)
Interesting facts
Italy
- 1. Goffredo Mameli wrote the lyrics at age 20 and died at 21 fighting for the Roman Republic in 1849
- 2. The anthem references Scipio Africanus, the Roman general who defeated Hannibal, as a symbol of Italian valor
- 3. It was only officially designated as the national anthem in 2017, after being used provisionally for over 70 years
San Marino
- 1. The melody comes from a tenth-century chorale that Federico Consolo found in a monastic breviary in Florence's Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, giving it one of the oldest musical lineages of any anthem still in use.
- 2. For 131 years the anthem had no name at all. It was known simply as the national anthem of the Republic until Constitutional Law no. 2 of 26 September 2025 titled it "Terra di Libertà".
- 3. That law placed the anthem alongside the flag and the coat of arms in article 2-bis of the 1974 Declaration of the Rights of Citizens, but expressly left its text to a separate ordinary law.
- 4. Giosuè Carducci, Italy's first Nobel laureate in literature, wrote an ode for the anthem that San Marino schools still teach. It has never been adopted, and the bill debated in 2026 proposes a revised version that drops his closing reference to the glory of Italy.
Listen
Italy
San Marino
