Bella Ciao, Partisans, and the Resistance.

by Alok Karn (akkarn26@gmail.com)

Intern Writer at Kuhiro Class and High School Graduate from Uniglobe SS/College, Kathmandu.

Image: Stephan Leuzinger

Bella Ciao, Partisans, and the Resistance in Italy.

Every year on April 25, Italians gather around heavily laden tables and barbecues to chant “Bella Ciao” at least half a dozen times, right hand on the heart. It was sung as an anti-fascist resistance song during the second world war and singing it has become part of the annual ritual celebrating Liberation Day, the anniversary of the end of the fascist regime and Nazi occupation in 1945 (Giusti ). Surprisingly, “Bella Ciao” wasn’t born as a partisan anthem. 

The first authors of “Bella Ciao” (“Goodbye beautiful”)  were the 19th-century mondine (literally “weeders”), female rice paddy field workers of the Po Valley, in Italy’s northeast, who sang dirges lamenting their harsh working conditions, but the identity of the bella the mondine is waving goodbye to remains unclear. It could be their beautiful youth, freedom, or even themselves (Giusti).

In the wartime adaptation, the words “Bella Ciao” are sung thrice in the second line of each verse; the repetition of “Bella ciao” seems to convey the impending danger of the invader approaching, as much as the narrator’s inability to say goodbye for the last time (Giusti ).

While the song may not have been born out of resistance, it was adopted as the anthem of the Italian partisans, and today it is sung worldwide as an anti-fascist hymn of freedom and resistance.

The Theory of the Partisan locates the origins of partisanship in the Spanish guerrilla war (1808-1813) against the French occupation. The partisans of the Spanish guerrilla were the first to wage an irregular war against a modern, regular army (Schmitt). From there, a spark flew north, notably towards Austria and Prussia. Prussians even officially embraced partisan warfare against foreign occupation in the Landsturm Proclamation of 1813, which put citizens under an obligation to resist foreign intruders with weapons of every kind.

After September 1943, partisan resistance groups were active throughout northern and much of central Italy.  Often, they were former soldiers cut off from home and still in possession of their weapons or were young men fleeing Mussolini’s attempts to conscript them. Partisans were fighting three types of war: a civil war against Italian Fascists, a war of national liberation against German occupation, and a class war against the ruling elites (Wikham et al.). "Bella ciao" became the anthem of the Italian resistance movement who opposed fascism and the German occupation during the Second World War (Suciu ). The various political parties organized most of the partisan units, but they also cooperated with the Allies. The Communist Party, although still very small in 1943 (about 5,000 members), led the largest group of partisans (at least 50,000 by the summer of 1944), drawing on years of experience in underground organization and Yugoslav support. They organized the uprisings in the northern and central cities, including Milan in April 1945, which fell to the partisans before Allied troops arrived. 

The war went badly for Italy from the beginning, and Mussolini’s opportunistic hopes for a quick victory soon dissolved. France surrendered before there was an opportunity for even a token Italian victory. Mussolini left for a meeting with Hitler, sadly aware, as Ciano put it, that his opinion had “only a consultative value.”

On July 24, at a meeting of the Fascist Grand Council—the supreme constitutional authority of the state, which had not met once since the war began—an overwhelming majority passed a resolution that in effect dismissed Mussolini from office. Disregarding the vote as a matter of little concern and refusing to admit that his minions could harm him, Mussolini appeared at his office the next morning as though nothing had happened. That afternoon, however, he was arrested by royal command on the steps of the Villa Savoia after an audience with the king. Imprisoned first on the island of Ponza, then on a remoter island off the coast of Sardinia, he was eventually transported to a hotel high on the Gran Sasso d’Italia in the mountains of Abruzzi, from which his rescue by the Germans was deemed impossible. Nevertheless, by crash-landing gliders on the slopes behind the hotel, a team of German commandos led by Waffen-SS officer Otto Skorzeny on September 12, 1943, effected his escape by air to Munich (Hibbert and Foot et al).

As German defenses in Italy collapsed and the Allies advanced rapidly northward, the Italian Communists of the partisan leadership decided to execute Mussolini. Rejecting the advice of various advisers, including the elder of his two surviving sons—his second son had been killed in the war—Mussolini refused to consider flying out of the country, and he made for the Valtellina, intending perhaps to make a final stand in the mountains. Still, only a handful of men could be found to follow him. He tried to cross the frontier disguised as a German soldier in a convoy of trucks retreating toward Innsbruck, in Austria. But he was recognized and, together with his mistress, Claretta Petacci, who had insisted on remaining with him to the end, he was shot and killed on April 28, 1945. The great mass of the Italian people greeted Mussolini’s death without regret. To many, he had lived beyond his time and had dragged his country into a disastrous war, which it was unwilling and unready to fight. Democracy was restored in the country after 20 years of dictatorship, and a neo-Fascist Party that carried on Mussolini’s ideals won only 2 percent of the vote in the 1948 elections (Hibbert and Footet al).

French-Italian actor Yves Montand, born Ivo Livi, was the one who first brought to a global audience. The Tuscan-born artist — whose family escaped to southern France during fascism — reportedly performed it for the first time outside Italy in 1964, starting its journey from partisan folklore to international anti-fascist triumph (Giusti M, 2021).

The Song of Protest or The Song of Freedom, “Bella Ciao” has been used numerous times in modern activism for one’s voice to be heard or for freedom against invasion. 

During the 2019 Hong Kong protests, "Bella Ciao" emerged as an anthem of resistance and solidarity among demonstrators. The song's historical roots in anti-fascist movements resonated with protesters' demands for greater political freedom and autonomy from Beijing. It was sung during rallies and marches, symbolizing the struggle for democracy and the fight against perceived authoritarian encroachment. 

The song has become a de facto resistance anthem in Ukraine. The first locally recorded version appeared online just days after Russia launched its invasion in February 2022. Ukrainian folk singer Khrystyna Ivanivna Soloviy shared her take on the folk song via her Instagram account, and it quickly surpassed a million views. What is especially noteworthy about the Ukrainian's use of "Bella ciao" is that it isn't the least bit patriotic, nor is it even a nationalist song. Rather it is one about overcoming oppression (Suciu P).

Iranians are singing an old Italian folk song to bring global attention to nationwide protests in their country. Two women sang the song Bella Ciao — their response to the government’s clampdown on protests against arrests by the government. The protestors do not cover their hair in the video, a symbolic act to protest against women's arrest on charges of not wearing the hijab headscarf properly (Aldroubi M).

I knew about “Bella Ciao” from Netflix's popular show “Money Heist” (Spanish: La casa de papel, lit.(‘The House of Paper’), created by Alex Pina. It is used as a revolution against a rigged system that has taken away something from each of the characters. I was unaware of the song’s history and deep relations with anti-fascism and the Second World War. The song reflects the need for activism and protest at times and is an inspiration to raise a voice against the unjust.

Simone Weil, a French philosopher, says "War may have its heroes, but resistance has its martyrs”.Today,  the partisans are gone, but 'Bella Ciao' ensures their fight lives on. It's a song not just of the past, but a potent anthem for every generation that dares to dream of a world where freedom echoes in every language.

Works Cited:Aldroubi, Mina.” Iranian Sister Sing “Bella Ciao” in Protest against  Government Clampdown.” The National, 30 Sept. 2022,

https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/iran/2022/09/30/iranian-sisters-sing-bella-ciao-in-protest-against-government-clampdown/ .

 Giusti, M. “Bella Ciao — Italy’s liberation anthem has deep roots.” Financial Times, 19 April.2021, 

https://ig.ft.com/life-of-a-song/bella-ciao.html . 

Hibert, Christopher, and John Foot. “ Benito Mussolini.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, 8 Jul. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benito-Mussolini . Accessed 20 July 2024.

Schmitt, Carl. The Theory of the Partisan. Amsterdam Law Forum, https://web.archive.org/web/20180427052441id_/http://amsterdamlawforum.org/article/viewFile/69/104

Suci, Peter. “ Anti-Fascist Folk Song ‘Bella Ciao’ Has Become Ukrainian And Iranian Anthem Of Resistance.” Forbes, 28 Sep. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2022/09/28/anti-fascist-folk-song-bella-ciao-has-become-ukrainian-and-iranian-anthem-of-resistance/

Wickham, Christopher John, et al. “Italy.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, 20 July. 2024,https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy. Accessed 20 July 2024.