A 10th-century chorale
The National Anthem of the Republic has an unusual genesis. Federico Consolo, a Sicilian violinist and composer active in the second half of the nineteenth century, drew it in 1894 from a tenth-century chorale contained in a monastic breviary held at the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence. The melody is therefore itself a historical document, predating its transformation into a State anthem by nine centuries.
September 1894
The Great and General Council adopted it as the National Anthem on 11 September 1894. The first public performance took place on 30 September of the same year, for the inauguration of the Public Palace, in the presence of Giosuè Carducci. Before Consolo, the official Anthem of the Republic was a military march by maestro Ulisse Balsimelli.
Music only
Officially the Anthem has no lyrics. Carducci himself composed a text for it, never adopted by the Sammarinese government. The Military Band performs it during national holidays and official ceremonies, from the flag-raising to the changing of the guard, from the investiture of the Captains Regent to the celebrations of the Festa di Sant'Agata.