Diu vi Salvi Regina is a religious song in the folklore of Corsica

Corsica

Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....

. The local nationalists also consider it the national anthem

National anthem

A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...

 of Corsica

Corsica

Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....

. It is customary to sing it at the end of any concert of Corsican folk music.

The anthem was written as a hymn

Hymn

A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...

 in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 by Francis de Geronimo

Francis de Geronimo

Saint Francis de Geronimo, also called Frances di Girolamo or - Hieronymo, or Francis Jerome was a Jesuit priest and missionary who was canonized by Gregory XVI in 1839. He was known for his sermons and the religious zeal that he inspired...

 (later canonized) about 1675. It was adopted as the national anthem of an independent Corsica when its people proclaimed their independence from the Republic of Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

 at Corte

Corte

Corte is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica. It is the fourth-largest commune in Corsica .-Administration:Corte is a subprefecture of the Haute-Corse department.-History:...

, on 30 January 1735.

Traditionally, a shepherd, Sauveur Costa, is credited with converting the hymn not only to a Corsican anthem, but to a rallying symbol for Corsican independence. It was first performed at the Chapel of St. Mark (San Marco) on 25 April 1720.

The anthem requests the protection of the Virgin Mary, heartily concurred in by the independence leaders. There were a few changes, such as in the second stanza from "disperati" (desperate) to "tribolati" (troubled). The commonly used version's last stanza was an original addition, written in the Corsican language

Corsican language

Corsican is a Italo-Dalmatian Romance language spoken and written on the islands of Corsica and northern Sardinia . Corsican is the traditional native language of the Corsican people, and was long the vernacular language alongside the Italian, official language in Corsica until 1859, which was...

, which makes reference to victory against enemies of Corsica, as to highlight the adopted lyrics' intended use.

L'innu corsu

Diu vi salvi Regina

È madre universale

Per cui favor si sale

Al paradisu.

Voi siete gioa è risu

Di tutti i scunsulati

Di tutti i tribulatti

Unica speme.

À voi sospira è geme

Il nostru afflitu core

In un mar' di dolore

È d'amarezza.

Maria, mar' di dolcezza

I vostri ochji pietosi

Materni ed amorosi

À noi volgete.

Noi miseri accogliete

Nel vostru santu velu

Il vostru figliu in celu

À noi mostrate.

Gradite ed ascultate

Ô vergine Maria

Dolce è clemente è pia

Gli affleti nostri accogliete.

Voi da i nemici nostri

À noi date vitoria

E poi l'eterna gloria

In paradisu.

External links

• http://www.polyhymnion.org/lieder/images/diuvisalvi.mid Midi file of "Diu vi salvi Regina"
• http://www.polyhymnion.org/lieder/images/diuvisalvi.pdf Score-PDF file of "Diu vi salvi Regina"