Genoa, Genoa CFC and music

Football and music have always been two great popular passions, expressing identity, belonging and shared emotion. Official and unofficial anthems, songs dedicated to the team, its players and key moments in its sporting life, and supporters’ chants in the stadium have accompanied Genoa’s history from its earliest days.

Semmo do Zena, sung by Mario Cappello in 1931, is Genoa’s first known anthem and the starting point of a rich musical heritage, which developed particularly after the Second World War with the emergence of organised support. Since then, songs dedicated to the Grifone have multiplied, becoming an integral part of the Genoa experience.

The Genoese singer-songwriter tradition includes a strong Genoa contingent, above all Fabrizio De André, a universally recognised symbol of the city’s musical culture. A memorable example was the Un inno per il Genoa competition, hosted by Enzo Tortora at the Fiera del Mare in 1972, which was won by Campodonico and Reverberi’s Un Cantico per il mio Grifone. Over the years, numerous musical performances before Genoa matches at the Luigi Ferraris stadium have also demonstrated this continuing dialogue between football and music.

The connection also extends to less familiar settings: in 1937, Genoa’s ground hosted Teatro Carlo Felice’s summer season, with performances of operas including Lohengrin, Tosca, Rigoletto and La Bohème – an extraordinary meeting of sport and classical music.

The tradition continues today with a new generation of artists who openly support Genoa, including Bresh and Alfa, prominent figures on the contemporary music scene who express a lived and shared Genoa identity through pop and urban music. Alongside them, numerous music initiatives promoted by Genoa CFC have continually renewed the relationship between the Club, artists and supporters, bringing music into and beyond the stadium as a means of engagement and belonging.