History of the iconic hymn "Bella Ciao" (Bella Ciao)

"Bella Ciao" (Italian for "Goodbye, beautiful") is a well-known Italian folk song that dates back to the late 19th century. There are several versions of its origin, one of which says that the song was born among the workers who toiled long days in the rice fields along the Po River.

How the Monda version was created ...

Rice cultivation is very hard labour, forcing people to stand in knee-deep water for hours with their backs bent. The most frustrating thing is that this labour was low paid. As it is not difficult to guess, sometimes the labourers staged riots and revolts, which, in fact, was a common phenomenon at that time. With the passage of time, the labour song did not fade into oblivion, but on the contrary, it actively developed throughout Italian history, gaining popularity among new generations. During World War II, the lyrics of "Bella Ciao" underwent some changes - the old song now sounded like an anthem of resistance against the fascist regime of Mussolini and his Nazi allies. Since then, the work song has evolved into the anthem that is widely celebrated throughout Europe.

As mentioned above, some believe that "Bella Ciao" was first sung in the late 19th century by women in Northern Italy. At that time, these women were called Mondinas (rice painters). As it is not difficult to guess, they worked in rice fields: planting grains of the plant of the same name, removing harmful weeds. The Mondinas had to work almost all day long with their backs bent, barefoot and knee-deep in water.

The work was indeed very tiring, requiring great physical stamina. But the Mondinas had to put up with it because they belonged to the poorest strata of society. To support themselves and their families, these poor women had to work under truly inhuman conditions.

But even though they were obedient and dedicated to their work, the women of the Mondinas received tiny wages on which they struggled to survive. Sometimes, or rather often, this led to riots and revolts. But, as a rule, such measures did not lead to anything good. Rebels were immediately dismissed, because the population of Italy in those years was mostly poor, so it was not difficult to find a new "slave". And why did they have to look for them? They came and asked for work themselves.

But back to the song. "Bella Ciao" was composed and sung by the toilers in protest. It is a kind of anthem of struggle. The women sang about their hard life, and in the phrase "Bella Ciao" you can hear their farewell to beauty and youth.

Among the Mondinas, the song remained relevant until the 20th century. With the advent of the new decade, the protests and uprisings finally bore fruit: the women's demands were met. Their working day was reduced to eight hours.

Subsequently, "Bella Ciao" took on a new life, finding great popularity among Italian partisans during World War II. With this powerful anthem, resistance fighters fought for their freedom against the puppet regime of Italian dictator Mussolini and the Nazi occupation of Italy. And by the end of the 1940s, "Bella Ciao" was being sung by the whole world! This is how the song of poor Mondinas women turned into an anti-fascist anthem.

Today this song is called a folk song, but over the years the name of its author has faded away. According to various versions, it could have been an Italian partisan or a rice plantation worker.

Alternative versions

There is an opinion among researchers that "Bella Ciao" allegedly existed at the time of the great military leader Giuseppe Garibaldi, who died in 1882. However, there are no reliable facts, or at least confirmations of the existence of the song from the mouths of contemporaries of Garibaldi, and has never been. Therefore, many music historians are sceptical about this belief.

Some of the researchers also believe that the song came to life at the very beginning of the 20th century. According to them, it actually originated in the rice plantations where the Italian Mondinas worked in sweat. Its title was slightly different: "Bella Ciao delle Mondine". In 2003, Franco Fabbri, a well-known music critic, referred to a letter from a man from Gualtieri called Scanzani. He claimed that he had written the lyrics of the "Mondine" version of the song after hearing a famous partisan hymn.

As for the partisan version of the origin, today it also has the right to exist. The fact that it was sung in the Resistance is a recorded fact. However, nothing is known about the partisan who wrote it.

Musical design

Later on, the song was given a musical design that resembles several folk compositions in its motif. For example, the children's song "Sleepy Potion" ("Dance of Sleepy Potion"), the ballad "Flower on the Grave", and the melody "And the Door Knocks, Knocks".

The song became most popular after the Prague Youth Congress of 1947. It was performed by Italians who had once been partisans in the Modena Mountains, and who had now won over many participants from other countries with their rendition of the song. Italian singer Giovanna Daffini first recorded "Bella Ciao" in 1962. For a long time the singer was interested in folk musical motifs. The special emotionality of her version of the song was given by the fact that in her youth she herself was one of the mondinas, among whom, according to one version, the famous "Bella Ciao" appeared.

Later it was replayed and re-sung by many artists from all over the world. According to average estimates, the song has been performed in 32 languages, and Russian is no exception. One of the first translations was a translation by poet Anatoly Gorokhov, which was performed by Muslim Magomayev.

Further fate of the song and its influence on culture

As time went on, the song's influence grew. Today it is spoken of as an international anthem that celebrates freedom. It was born at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century as an anthem against injustice, and as such it was sung outside Italy in other political and historical contexts. For example, it was sung by French students during the 1968 riots.

"Bella Ciao" is no less popular in sports. For example, it is the favourite song of football fans. Surely fans of this sport remember how during the 2018 FIFA World Cup this old anthem was sung by the Italians and Portuguese.

Because of its brightness and emotionality, the composition is widely used in cinema. For example, it is well known to viewers of the military drama "On the Trail of the Tiger" ("The Bridge"). It is worth adding that with the release of the tape in the cinema, the interest of Soviet listeners to the ancient work, which has already been somewhat sharpened again. Creators of modern TV series also turn to it. "Bella Ciao" is often heard in the Spanish "Paper House", which premiered in 2017.

Versions of the song

In the Soviet Union, this song gained unheard-of popularity thanks to Muslim Magomayev, who performed it in 1963.

We should also pay tribute to another of its performers, Goran Bregovic.

Garik Sukachev also contributed to popularising "Bella Ciao" by performing the composition "Song of a Free Shooter", which clearly refers to the motif and lyrics of the folk song.

There is also a "female" version for the song, sung, for example, by the Italian singer Milva.

The song is sung in different languages, in countries with different cultures. For example, the Arabic version.

Interesting facts

A few facts about the song may come as quite a surprise.

• In 2003, the music critic Franco Fabbri claimed that in the mid-1960s, the guerrilla Vasco Sanzani sent a statement to the newspaper Unita claiming to be the author of the Mendean anthem. According to Sanzani, he had simply rewritten the text of "Bella Ciao", a favourite of the guerrillas.
• "Bella Ciao", now considered one of the main symbols of the Italian Resistance movement, did not become one until after the war. It was indeed a favourite of the partisans, but in a limited area around Modena. This change is attributed to political motives - the much more common "Fischia il vento" was sung to the tune of the Russian "Katyusha", which was disliked by the government, which did not support the Soviet policy.
• Despite the fact that the first recording of the song is called Giovanna Daffini's version, in 1919 a similar melody was recorded many kilometres away from Italy, in New York. It was performed by Mishka Tsyganov, an accordionist. The work was based on "The little bag of coal", a famous Yiddish song.

"Bella Ciao" is one of the folk songs that has not only remained popular over the years, but is increasingly being used by people from different cultures.