Bella Ciao is the most famous Italian song in the world. Because, over the years, it has become the symbol of those who resist all forms of oppression and the universal expression of Resistance.

Bella Ciao is associated with the Resistance and the partisans: the words of the text evoke freedom, the fight against dictatorships and opposition to extremism, and for this reason, Bella Ciao is considered the symbolic song of the Italian Resistance.

Despite her fame, Bella Ciao’s origin is still uncertain. Some historians have identified the text and the musical influences of the module’s working songs, while others trace them back to the French sixteenth century. Others still see Yiddish forces in its melodies. However, Fior di grave, a folk song from northern Italy, Piedmont, seems to be the top song we know, with some variations taken from other popular songs. Because the partisan piece includes the lyrics of the Piedmontese popular song “Fior di grave”.

According to the historian Cesare Bermani, it is a popular Italian song associated with the Partisan Resistance of World War II, “it was sung by the Maiella Brigade operating in Abruzzo. In June 1944, the song also resounded in Emilia, it arrived late in the North, in the last months before the Liberation”, and then reached all over the world. However, it began to spread only after the Spoleto Festival in 1964. In reality, even the National Association of Partisans of Italy (ANPI) itself recognises it only in part because it was scarcely used during the Nazi-Fascist dictatorship and ended up identifying the ideas of the partisans only after the war, about twenty years later.

In summary, “Bella Ciao” originated as a famous Italian protest song that emerged at the end of the 19th century. The composer and lyricists of this rebellious song, sung by workers who once worked under challenging conditions in the paddy fields of the Po Valley, are unknown. The text of this anonymous folkloric song consisted of the words of a man who went to work in the rice field in the morning, addressed to his wife, whom he had left at home. He was expressing both his harsh working conditions and his love.