Italic: original Latin text by Andrea Buttignon
Roman: Italian translation by Chiara Battistella
First Stanza:
Terra, quae resurrexisti sicut corpus Christi, bellis superfuisti: para pacem
‘O Earth, who rose again like the body of Christ, you survived the wars: prepare peace’
Aquae, inter omnes gentes, specula historiae, ut testes caelestes
‘O Waters, (flowing) among all peoples, mirrors of history, like celestial witnesses’
Vita, sicut aqua viva renovasti corda velut urbem novam. Incedamus!
‘O Life, like living water you renewed hearts like a new city. Let us advance!’
Ad te, civitas divina Hierosolyma, tendit anima
‘To You, O divine city Jerusalem, the soul tends’
First Refrain:
Aura libera, flamma limpida, lux magnifica, vive in saecula!
‘O Free air, limpid flame, magnificent light, live through the ages!’
Anima Aeterna, Anima Aeterna
‘Eternal soul, eternal soul’
Second Stanza:
Terra, fulgor majestatis, lumen caritatis, lux aeternitatis. Incedamus!
‘O Earth, splendor of majesty, light of charity, light of eternity. Let us advance!’
In te, civitas divina Hierosolyma, manet gloria
‘In You, O divine city Jerusalem, glory remains’
Second Refrain:
Aura libera, flamma limpida, lux magnifica, vive in saecula!
‘O Free air, limpid flame, magnificent light, live through the ages!’
Anima Aeterna, Anima Aeterna
‘Eternal soul, eternal soul’
Refrain with variation:
Aura libera, (Anima)
Flamma limpida, (Aeterna)
Lux magnifica, (Anima)
Vive in saecula! (Aeterna)
Finale:
Alleluja!
Alleluia!
The work opens with an invocation to the Earth, witness and protagonist of a parable of suffering and redemption. Through the formulation “Quae resurrexisti sicut corpus Christi“, the author of the text intends to establish a profound connection between the historical events that bloodied the soil of the Gorizia lands and the Christian symbolism of the Resurrection. The Earth, having survived the wars (bellis superfuisti), powerfully evokes the martyrdom on the Isonzo front and the tenacity of its people.
The subsequent soundscape transports listeners toward the Waters, mirrors of history (specula historiae) and celestial witnesses to the passage of peoples. In this vision, the water element — a symbolic reference to the Isonzo River — ceases to constitute a border barrier to become a meeting point among all nations (inter omnes gentes). In the following section, we encounter the apostrophe to Life, that is — metaphorically speaking — to the Lord, who is compared to Living Water, capable of renewing hearts and giving life to a new community just as if it were a ‘new city’ (velut urbem novam).
The dynamism of the work is contained in the exhortation “Incedamus!” (Let us advance!). It is the invitation to a choral movement toward the Civitas divina, the heavenly Jerusalem which here becomes the image of an ideal homeland of true Peace and harmony. For the soul of the project, tending toward this goal means overcoming the divisions of the past to arrive at a universal communion.
The refrain is structured around three symbolic passages that define the identity of Anima Aeterna.
Aura libera: the wind of a reconquered freedom, which breaks free from the bonds of a tormented past and, in a Christian sense, evokes the Holy Spirit. The definition of “free” suggests the freedom promised to the children of God by Jesus Christ himself: “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (Jn 8:32). The wind of the Spirit, moreover, “blows where it wishes” (Jn 3:8), and spreads grace and divine presence where previously constraint and shadow reigned.
Flamma limpida: is the image of the purifying fire of Charity and Pentecost. The limpid flame represents the Spirit that burns without consuming, enlightening consciences and transforming human love into Charity, the divine love that purifies all and renews all.
Lux magnifica: the supreme truth that illuminates the path of justice, founding civil coexistence on eternal principles (Vive in saecula). Light is the Christological symbol par excellence: “Ego sum lux mundi” (Jn 8:12). Its magnificence represents the revealed Truth that dispels the darkness of sin and discord, placing divine Wisdom as the foundation for a new Earth.
If initially the soul “tended” toward the Divine City, now the progression finds its conclusion in the glorious permanence suggested by the verb manet (remains). The light of Majesty and the light of Charity merge, offering the viewer a vision in which the history of man and the eternity of God finally meet in a single, solemn embrace. Because «The city does not need the light of the sun, nor the light of the moon, for the glory of God illuminates it and its lamp is the Lamb» (Rev 21:23).
The conclusion of the work is entrusted to the singing of Alleluia, a word that, despite its brevity, encompasses the entire meaning of the Anima Aeterna project. Derived from the Hebrew Hallelu-Ya (“Praise the Lord”), this term serves as a keystone that unites the three levels of the narrative.
In the Christian context, the Alleluia is the song of paschal joy, the cry that announces the victory of Life over death. Placed at the end of a text that has traced the sufferings of a martyred land (Bellis superfuisti) and the renewal of hearts (Renovasti corda), it sanctions that the Sacrifice was not in vain, and the Territory itself hopes in the Lord’s return as the sole source of spiritual comfort after its difficult history. It is the celebration of the Heavenly Jerusalem that finally “remains” (Manet gloria), transforming hope into certainty.
From a socio-political perspective, for a land like that of Gorizia and Venezia Giulia, the Alleluia represents the definitive overcoming of divisive ideologies. If the piece begins with the memory of the “martyred body” of the Earth by wars, the final acclamation celebrates reconciliation among peoples. It is the spiritual “clearance” toward a future in which coexistence among different cultures surpasses the form of a fragile experiment to become a glorious and shared reality. The Alleluia embodies the sense of celebration of a community that has been able to “advance” (incedamus) toward peace.
The Alleluia becomes the bearer of a message of openness toward immensity. The choice to seal the song through this word of praise expresses the will that the Anima Aeterna project — and with it the spirit of the GO!2025 Legacy — should not end with the first concert.
It is a wish for permanence: that the values of freedom (Aura libera), charity (Lumen caritatis) and truth (Lux magnifica) may resonate “through the ages” (in saecula).
It is a precious legacy that, by virtue of its repetition, symbolically commits future generations of the Territory to keep alive the realities of dialogue and true Peace, that of the Lord.
Anima Aeterna thus closes under the sign of divine gratitude. It transcends its purely vocal and musical nature to become a spiritual mandate to be preserved over time: a glory that does not fade, a praise that continues to resonate among the stones and waters of the border, now finally free.
The final Alleluia is the profound message of a land that has found its peace and that, proud of its own history and its own Faith, delivers itself to Eternity.
