It wasn't penned as a romantic farewell, but "Bella Ciao" — meaning "goodbye beautiful" in Italian — is a song that has come to symbolize a parting with oppression.

When the phrase was discovered etched on an unspent bullet casing linked to the man accused of killing conservative US activist Charlie Kirk, it wasn't just some cryptic clue.

It was a refrain bearing history, drawn from a century-old Italian protest song, which has long been a global tune of resistance.

While its connection to Kirk's death remains moot, this find has cast fresh light on a melody that has evolved from partisan movements to pop culture playlists.

Divergent origin stories

Widely labelled an anti-fascist anthem, "Bella Ciao" is sung annually on April 25 during Italy's Liberation Day to mark the end of Benito Mussolini's fascist dictatorship and the Nazi occupation in Italy. Its most widespread version tells the story of a partisan with unspecified political leanings, who dies for freedom, asking to be buried "under the shade of a beautiful flower."

But the song's origins are anything but clear. Some historians have traced its melody (without lyrics) to a 1919 recording by Odesa-born klezmer accordionist, Mishka Ziganoff.

Others point to a separate folk song sung by "mondine" — female rice paddy weeders in Northern Italy — protesting against harsh labor conditions. That version, also titled "Bella Ciao," shares little with the partisan anthem beyond its title.

The partisan version known today was solidified in the early 1960s, notably through a rendition by Italian-born French actor Yves Montand. As Utrecht University researchers Daniele Salerno and Marit van de Warenburg noted in their 2023 study of the song, its power lies not in its fixed origin but in its adaptability.

They described "Bella Ciao" as a "portable monument" — a cultural artifact that carries memory across time and space.

"Bella Ciao is continuously rewritten, reused, and relocated in different and new contexts and media, and for a range of causes," they wrote.

From resistance to remixes

Though not widely sung during World War II itself, "Bella Ciao" defined how Italians stood up to fascism after the war. Over the decades, it has been adopted by leftist movements across Europe and beyond.

In January this year, left-wing activists in Germany sang the song at a protest against the far-right party AfD.

In 2024, left-leaning members of the European Parliament sang it to protest Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's policies — prompting Parliament President Roberta Metsola to then quip, "This is not Eurovision."

In 2021, demonstrators in Jerusalem, opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hold on power despite an indictment and corruption allegations, sang "Bibi Ciao" at the prospect of his departure back then — "Bibi" being Netanyahu's nickname.

Carlo Pestelli, who authored the book "Bella Ciao: The Song of Freedom," told AFP in 2022 that the song's appeal lies in its adaptability and melodic simplicity.

"It wasn't a communist song but a manifesto for freedom… it represents apolitical values that everyone can understand and share," Pestelli said. "It is also an easy song to sing, with a catchy chorus that even non-Italian speakers can pick up."

Feminist protests and balcony choruses

Feminist activists have also repurposed the catchy ditty to fight their causes. Pro-choice activists in both Argentina and Poland repurposed the song in 2018 and 2020 respectively, calling out their governments for legislating unfavorably against women's reproductive rights.

On September 16, 2022 — the day 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini died following her arrest by Iran's morality police for wearing an improper hijab — sisters Samin and Behin Bolouri sang a Persian version of "Bella Ciao" in a social media post that went viral.

These localized adaptations reflect what Salerno and van de Warenburg call "transnational activism," where the song — also used by both the Occupy Wall Street and Fridays for Future movements — becomes a vessel for new struggles without losing its historical weight.

Its reach however, has extended far beyond politics. It was belted from balconies in Italy during COVID-19 lockdowns and has even been reworked by soccer fans in support of their clubs.

Digital reworking

"Bella Ciao" owes much of its recent popularity to Netflix's Spanish crime drama "La Casa de Papel" (or "Money Heist" in English), which introduced the song to a global audience.

The series' version, remixed by electronic dance music producers El Profesor and Hugel, has to date garnered more than 200 million views on YouTube. Dozens of versions, including indie interpretations, can also be heard on Spotify. 

It has also surfaced in gaming culture, featured in "Far Cry 6" and used on TikTok to score highlights from "Call of Duty: Warzone."

A legacy transcending ideologies

"Bella Ciao" has been used by movements across continents and ideologies — from anti-fascist and feminist activists to climate protesters and pop culture creators.

Its adaptability has made it a fixture in moments of dissent, solidarity and remembrance.

Whether sung in protest, remixed online or referenced cryptically on a bullet casing, "Bella Ciao" continues to serve as a signal — not of any particular ideology, but perhaps of resistance itself.

Edited by: Elizabeth Grenier