Italian Carabinieri Bands (''Banda dell’Arma dei Carabinieri'') refers to the military/police bands that are a part of the

Arma dei Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...

of the

Italian Republic Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. These bands which serve at the Carabinieri's headquarters in the capital of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

are among the most famous musical groups in Europe. The bands perform in the corps' ceremonial uniform, which includes a distinctive black uniform made of silver

braid A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strande ...

s, and a traditional two-pointed hat known as the Lucerna or a

bicorne The bicorne or bicorn (two-cornered) is a historical form of hat widely adopted in the 1790s as an item of uniform by European and American army and naval officers. Most generals and staff officers of the Napoleonic period wore bicornes, which ...

. Since 2000, the bands of the Carabinieri have been under the direction of Massimo Martinelli.

Origins, Traditions, and Present Day

The original Carabinieri band was founded in 1820 when a fanfare team of trumpeters was introduced into the Royal Carabinieri Corps for the first time. This group performed ceremonial fanfares for the Italian King and the Royal Carabinieri for over 40 years before being expanded into a formal brass band and then developed into a full band contingent in 1862. Since 1920, the band has been branded and identified under its present name. The prestige of the band grew very quickly in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and abroad, with its first tour since its inception being to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1916, performing with the

French Republican Guard Band The Republican Guard Band (french: Orchestre de la Garde républicaine) is a military band unit of the French Republican Guard, which is part of the National Gendarmerie. The band is composed of 120 professional musicians from national conservato ...

at monuments and memorials for veterans and wounded active servicemen of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Beginning in 1947, which was two years after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and one year after the establishment of the

, the band took part in a world tour which included 25 countries in the newly liberated

European continent Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and 35 cities in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. With Carabinieri bands also serving as police band alongside their military role, the bands of the corps traditional participate in law enforcement related events, such as the International Festival of Police Bands in Japan in 2001, as well as in the World Expo in Aichi in 2005. In 2001 the band performed for

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

during the first official visit of a pontiff to the Chamber of Deputies. Today the bands of the corps account for 102 professional musicians, who play a vast repertory varying from original pieces composed specially for the band, to famous military marches and modern music, performing in concert halls, theaters, on radio or television. The oldest of these, the Rome-based National Band, is the official presidential band of the Republic, co-shared in this duty by the Mounted Band, made up of mounted musicians assigned to the Carabinieri Cavalry Regiment.

Structure

* National Carabinieri Band ** Fanfare Section * Band of the Carabineri NCO School

* Band of the Carabineri Basic School

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

* Band of the Warrant Officers’ School (

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

) * Band of the “Lombardy” Battalion (

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

) * Band of the “Campania” Battalion (

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

) * Band of the “Sicily” Battalion (

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

) * Mounted Carabinieri Band of the Carabinieri (4th) Cavalry Regiment

Gallery

File:2june2006 073.jpg, File:Carabinieri band (34110118594).jpg, Fanfare Band File:Festa della Repubblica 2016 58.webm,

References

External links

{{Authority control Types of musical groups Wind bands Italian military bands Carabinieri Military units and formations established in 1820 Police bands