A carmagnole is a type of song and street dance popular during the French Revolution. When I initially researched the term, I assumed it would be linked to the Latin word carmen, which means “song”. However, my assumption was incorrect. The term actually originates from the title of a specific song, La Carmagnole, which was first performed by the revolutionary sans-culottes in August 1792. The name was inspired by a style of short jacket that was fashionable among the lower classes at that time. This jacket style was associated with the Piedmontese peasants who brought the trend from an Italian town called Carmagnola. While I could not find detailed information on the town’s name origin, it is worth noting that there is a famous sculpture of Roman Emperor Justinian’s head in Venice named Carmagnola, as the artist hailed from the city. Additionally, there is a variety of industrial hemp from northern Italy known as Carmagnola.
