“There are only patterns, patterns on top of patterns, patterns that affect other patterns. Patterns hidden by patterns. Patterns within patterns.
If you watch close, history does nothing but repeat itself."
― Chuck Palahniuk
25 Aprile, Festa della Liberazione.
The roots of this song go much further back than WW2. It is based on a protest folk song from the late 19th century. The first recorded version was sung by a mondina (a woman rice picker) who worked in the fields in the 1800s. For the mondine, this was a song of protest against their boss. Even before then, there were similar folk songs in northern Italy that resemble Bella Ciao's melody and some of its lyrics. The most popular version of the song honors the brave Italian resistance fighters who battled against Nazi forces and fascist collaborators from 1943 to 1945.
Just as this song has roots that date back further than the past century, its legacy extends itself further into the present and future. Though public opinion on this song in Italy varies extremely from person to person, one thing is for certain: versions of "Bella ciao" continue to be sung worldwide as a hymn of freedom and resistance.