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Buona Festa della Repubblica, Italy!

The second of June marks Festa della Repubblica in Italy, one of the national symbols of the country, with a central celebration taking place every year in Rome.

We were there in 2017 to record the sounds of the parade, as every possible branch of the Italian military marched past, each playing their own anthems and singing their own songs – it’s really quite the spectacle.

City versions:

Simon Woods has reimagined the sounds of the Roman celebration into his piece “Lento Bella Ciao”:

“The music section of this piece consists of the notes, chords and bass of the traditional rebel song ‘Bella Ciao’ slowed down and echoed to a point where it becomes unrecognisable as the original.”

Memory version: