The song originated with mondine (rice weeding women) in Northern Italy, who sang it to protest harsh labor conditions and unfair bosses ( padroni ).
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. BELLA CIAO (Canzone Originale Testo)
The most widely known version, the "Partisan" version, tells the story of a fighter bidding farewell to his beloved to join the resistance. The song originated with mondine (rice weeding women)