S'hymnu sardu nationale


S'hymnu sardu nationale, also known as Cunservet Deus su Re, was the national anthem of the Kingdom of Sardinia under Savoyard rule.

History

Dating back to the 1830s, the anthem was written by the Sardinian priest Vittorio Angius, who became secular in 1842. The music was composed by a maestro from Sassari, Giovanni Gonella, who was also the musician of the Brigata Regina.
The anthem was first performed at the Cagliari Civic Theater on February 20, 1844.
The original score was found in the archives of the Music Auditorium in Cagliari by the Prof. Francesco Cesare Casula, then head of Institute of History of Mediterranean Europe of Italy's National Research Council.
According to Casula, the official hymn was held in high regard by the rulers from the Italian mainland in Piedmont. On the express wishes of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, it was officially performed for the last time in 1937, by the choir of the Sistine Chapel, the Director of which being Lorenzo Perosi, when the Golden Rose was conferred to Queen Elena by Pope Pius XI.
The anthem, written in Sardinian language, was de facto replaced by the Italian Royal March of Ordinance as early as 1861, but it would lose its formal status only in 1946, when the Monarchy was definitely abolished and the so-called Canto degli Italiani was chosen as the provisional national anthem of the newly proclaimed Italian Republic.
In 1991, S'Hymnu sardu nationale was performed by the Carabinieri Music Band at the Quirinale on May 29, in accordance with the traditional way the foreign diplomatic corps was received. It was meant to pay homage to the Sardinian origin of Francesco Cossiga, then President of the Republic. It was played again when Cossiga resigned from such position on April 28, 1992.
In 2001, the anthem was performed on the occasion of the funeral of Marie José of Belgium, the last queen of Italy.

Lyrics

The anthem is entirely written in Sardinian language, and more specifically the Logudorese dialect.