Italy has introduced a slight change to its national anthem, removing an emphatic "Si!" (Yes!) that followed a call to arms for the country, government sources said on Tuesday. A source close to the matter said the Defence Staff issued official instructions about the tweak in recent weeks, in compliance with a presidential decree published on the official gazette in May that referred to the anthem's original version.
Before the latest change, the "Brothers of Italy" anthem concluded with: "We are ready to die, We are ready to die, Italy has called! Yes!" News of the removal of the final word, which was not publicised by the government, was confirmed by sources in the defence ministry and the office of President Sergio Mattarella.
