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The song originated with mondine (rice weeding women) in Northern Italy, who sang it to protest harsh labor conditions and unfair bosses ( padroni ).
The most widely known version, the "Partisan" version, tells the story of a fighter bidding farewell to his beloved to join the resistance. BELLA CIAO (Canzone Originale Testo)
While the song is closely linked to the Italian Resistance, evidence suggests it was not widely sung by partisans during World War II; it became a popular anthem decades later in the 1960s. The song originated with mondine (rice weeding women)