The National Anthem of Italy was written by Goffredo Mameli in the autumn of 1847 but only became the Italian National Anthem in 1946.
Mameli was a Republican born in Genova in 1827 who joined the war with Garibaldi to fight the French troops. The French, at the time, were supporting the Catholic state in Rome.
Goffredo died 2 years after writing the Italian National Anthem. He was only 22 years old and his death was as a result of an infection due to a war injury. His remains are kept in the Mausoleum of the Janiculum.
