On 15 June 1915, during the First World War, the Exilles, Pinerolo, Susa and Fenestrelle battalions of the 3rd Alpine Regiment commanded by Colonel Donato Etna, occupied the top of Monte Nero, in the Julian Alps, with a night action. The undertaking, which was cited by the international press as an example of brilliant war action, however had a very high cost in terms of human lives; this song seems to have been written and set to music by the surviving Alpine soldiers themselves, including Giuseppe Malandrino, a native of Rivoli.
