ITEM
I Legionari tornaro Item Info
I Legionari tornaro - item
- Object ID:
- demo_1543
- Creator:
- Odeon
- Type of Sound:
- Music
- Lyrics Composer:
- Orfei
- Music Composer:
- Da Silva
- Instruments:
- Vocalist; Mandolin; Guitar
- Type of Music:
- Song
- Record Language:
- Italian
- Date:
- 1939
- Identifier:
- GO 19717
- Linked Recording:
- demo_1544
- Rights:
- metadata-only record, please check the publication for rights
- Source:
- Corriere Musicale Rassegna Fonografica, September 1939
- Description:
- The main subjects of this song are the legion and the legionnaires, particularly exploited by Fascist propaganda from the second Italo-Ethiopian conflict (1935-1936) onwards, and later during Italy's engagement in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the Second World War (1940-1943). As the word was used in the Italian army before Benito Mussolini came to power, the "legion" designates a basic military unit which, in the context of Fascist Italy, also refers to the ancient Roman imperial armies and activates their imaginary. The legionnaire, expected to fight and die in the name of the "Duce", embodies the values central to Fascism and its propaganda. When he helps Italy regain its "greatness", the legionnaire is a hero and a good patriot. When he dies in combat, he is a martyr, and his death represents an exemplary, desirable sacrifice. In addition to his love for his country and for B. Mussolini, songs featuring the legionnaire evoke his feelings for the mother, fiancée or wife he has left to fight far from home; songs featuring the legion evoke also a collective heroism. Legionnaires and the Legion are therefore major symbolic figures for the regime as soon as it sets out to wage war, and needs to activate and regulate the feelings that will motivate a possibly fatal military engagement, and make it accepted, even desired, by those who won't be going to the battlefront. This recording relates to the participation of Fascist Italy and its troops in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Opposing the Republicans (Spanish left-wing and international) to the nationalist forces led by General Francisco Franco, the Spanish Civil War soon involved foreign combatants, including, on the nationalist side, German and Italian army corps (Corpo Truppe Volontarie). Italy sought to gain influence in the Mediterranean basin and demonstrate the power of its army. However, it notably suffered a crushing defeat at Guadalajara (March 1937). The Spanish Civil War was also the backdrop to an alliance between the "Tre Condottieri" (Franco, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini), who thus formed a European fascist triangle. The new affinity between Italy and Spain is underlined (and disseminated) by the recording of Spanish national and military anthems by Italian record companies.
- Online Resources:
- -
- Performers:
- Balzani
- Lyrics by:
- Orfei
- Music by:
- Da Silva
- Instruments:
- Vocalist Mandolin Guitar
- Genre:
- Song
- Sound Type:
- Music
- Recording Language:
- Italian
- Related Record:
- demo_1544
Source
- Preferred Citation:
- "I Legionari tornaro", REDIRE Database, Bonn Center for Digital Humanities (BCDH)
- Reference Link:
- http://localhost:4000/items/demo_1543.html
Rights
- Rights:
- metadata-only record, please check the publication for rights