What do a marching band, a group of thieves, and your Wi-Fi signal have in common? The Italian word banda! Yep, this little word covers a surprising number of meanings. Depending on the context, it can refer to an ensemble of musicians, a criminal gang, or even internet bandwidth—and that’s not all.
banda
Banda is a feminine noun and follows the standard Italian pattern:
- La banda
- Le bande
- Una banda
- Delle bande
1. Banda = Marching band
First of all, banda in Italian commonly refers to a group of marching musicians. You know, the ones playing things like trumpets, clarinets, drums, and tubas while parading down the street. In many Italian towns, the banda musicale is a big part of local life. If you’re lucky to visit during a patron saint festival, a religious procession, or another important event, you’ll almost certainly find one playing in the piazza.
Per tanti anni, mio nonno ha suonato la tromba nella banda del paese.
For many years, my grandpa played the trumpet in the town band.
Here are some common expressions:
- La banda musicale: The musical band
- La banda del paese: The town band
- Il capobanda: The bandleader
For a taste of banda culture in Italy, here are a few famous examples you can check out:
- La Banda dell’Arma dei Carabinieri, which is considered one of the most prestigious military bands in the world.
- La Banda di Bisceglie, which has been recently recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of the Apulia region.
- La Racchia di Sarnano, from le Marche region, one of the craziest and most fun marching bands in the world.
Even though banda sounds just like band in English, these two words aren’t really interchangeable. I mean, calling The Rolling Stones a banda is basically picturing Mick Jagger marching down the street, baton in hand, followed by a squad of trumpet and clarinet players (which, honestly, would be pretty cool, but probably not the vibe they’re going for!). Instead, for rock and pop music groups we use gruppo (literally “group”), or just borrow the English band.
Finally, from the musical world we also get the word sarabanda. It originally indicated an old Spanish dance, but then evolved to describe a noisy, chaotic scene. In Italy, Sarabanda is also the name of a famous music game show where contestants have to guess a song after hearing just a couple of notes (it’s based on the American format Name That Tune).
2. BANDA = Gang, criminal group
Moving away from parades, the word banda can still mean a group of people, but instead of making music, they make trouble (or worse).
La polizia ha finalmente arrestato la banda che ha svaligiato la banca.
The police finally arrested the gang that robbed the central bank.
When reading Italian newspapers or watching the news, you’ll frequently bump into expressions like:
- Una banda armata: An armed gang
- Una banda di ladri / rapinatori / falsari: A gang of thieves / robbers / counterfeiters
- Uno scontro tra bande: A gang war
- I membri della banda: The gang members
- Sgominare una banda: To bust a gang
In Italian culture, there are two criminal bande everyone knows:
- La Banda della Magliana, a notorious criminal organization that controlled Rome in the 1970s. It inspired the famous Italian movie Romanzo Criminale.
- La Banda Bassotti, the Italian name for Disney’s Beagle Boys, the criminal crew that’s forever plotting against Scrooge McDuck.
3. BANDA = Crew, bunch, pack
Banda can also be used to indicate a group of people who are usually up to something together, whether for fun or for causing a bit of mischief.
Sabato i ragazzi vanno al mare con tutta la banda.
Saturday the kids are going to the beach with the whole gang.
Common expressions include:
- Una banda di ragazzini: A pack of kids (usually making noise or causing minor trouble)
- Una banda di bulli: A bunch of bullies
- Una banda di scemi / di matti: A bunch of idiots / crazies (usually used jokingly among friends)
Some famous example of banda as a “crew” can be found in music:
- La mia banda suona il rock, the 1970’s hit by Ivano Fossati, where banda evokes a group of rebels united by music and a defiant spirit.
- Il capo della banda by Jovanotti, where again la banda is a rebellious tribe. He sings Io sono Jovanotti, il capo della banda, se vuoi essere dei nostri devi fare domanda (I’m Jovanotti, the head of the crew, if you want in, you’ve got to apply).
4. BANDA = Stripe, band
Banda in Italian also takes on a physical meaning, referring to a strip or band of material.You’ll often hear this when talking about clothing details or safety gear.
Adoro queste bande argentate sui pantaloni!
I love these silver stripes on the pants!
Some common everyday examples:
- Una banda laterale: A side stripe (as on trousers or tracksuits)
- Una banda colorata: A stripe of color
- Una banda riflettente: A reflective strip (like those on safety vests)
- Una banda magnetica: A magnetic stripe (like on the back of a credit card)
- Una banda elastica: An elastic band (as used in fitness)
5. BANDA = Band (technology)
Finally, in tech, banda is all about “bands” of frequency or data, that is the invisible infrastructure that powers internet, Wi-Fi, radio, and more.
In paese stanno finalmente installando la banda ultra larga.
The town is finally getting ultra-broadband installed.
Common expressions include:
- La banda larga: Broadband (literally, “wide band”)
- La banda ultra larga: Ultra broadband
- La banda di frequenza: Frequency band (as used in radio, Wi-Fi, and telecoms)
- Larghezza di banda: Bandwidth
Valentina Nicastro is a travel writer in love with her home country, Italy. Having travelled widely around the globe, she realised there was more to explore closer to home and decided to put the passport aside for a while. When she is not immersed in documenting Italy, you’ll find her donning her communication consultant hat, weaving words as a content writer and bridging linguistic divides as a translator.
