Bandiera Rossa
Bandiera Rossa, often also called Avanti Popolo after its opening words, is one of the most famous songs of the Italian labour movement. It glorifies the red flag, symbol of the socialist and communist movements. The text was written by Carlo Tuzzi in 1908; the melody is taken from two Lombard folk songs, and is frequently still used today among modern socialist and/or communist parties
Versions
Apart from the first Italian text, there are several variants which are identified with certain socialist or communist parties. The last two lines "Evviva il comunismo e la libertà" were put in the text after the rise of Benito Mussolini; at the same time the original beginning "Compagni avanti alla riscossa" was changed to "Avanti o popolo, alla riscossa". Also, the word "comunismo" at the end of the chorus is often replaced with "socialismo", especially in more recent renderings of the song.Influence on other works
Art music
Bandiera Rossa was notably quoted in Frederic Rzewski's piano works The People United Will Never Be Defeated! and No Place [to Go but Around].In popular culture
Notable covers of the song were made by the Yugoslav and Slovenian punk rock band Pankrti in 1984 on their Rdeči album, as well as the Yugoslav and Croatian punk rock band KUD Idijoti, first on their 1986 live album Legendarni uživo and on their 1990 studio album Mi smo ovdje samo zbog para. Scottish band Tarneybackle released a version of the song as part of a medley of Spanish Civil War music. The song also appears on UK punk band Angelic Upstarts' 2002 album Sons of Sparticus.The title of the 1986 Israeli film Avanti Popolo is taken from the song. The film's protagonists – Israeli and Egyptian soldiers, particularly unheroic in their attitudes and actions, wander the Sinai Desert in the aftermath of the 1967 War. In one notable scene, the soldiers facetiously sing the song.