If you’ve seen the T.V. show Money Heist, you’ve probably jammed to the tunes of the famous song, Bella Ciao. The Professor explains to Berlin how the song was played against the fascist rule in Italy, as they both proudly sing the tunes as they prepare for the heist.
During one of Tokyo's narrations, she gives viewers some insight into the meaning—and how the thieves were first introduced to it.
"The life of The Professor revolved around one idea: Resistance. His grandfather, who had fought against the fascists in Italy, taught him the song—and he taught it to us," she says.
If we pay close attention, we’ll notice the song is played during big plot moments on the show. In season 2, we hear it when the thieves find a way out of the Mint—and again when the police figure out how they got into the Mint in the first place. But at that point, the thieves were already long gone and traveling to their secret locations.
"Bella Ciao"—or "Goodbye Beautiful"—is an Italian folk song that was used as an anthem for the anti-fascist resistance and used worldwide as a hymn of freedom. And now, as the world quarantines throughout a global coronavirus pandemic, "Bella Ciao" has become a song of solidarity. With its Italian roots, many in Italy sang the song to lift up spirits while they were in lockdown.
The First World War was a great strain on the Italian economy, and there was bitter disappointment at her treatment by the Versailles settlement. Between 1919 and 1922 there were five different governments, all of which were incapable of taking the decisive action that the situation demanded. In 1919, Benito Mussolini founded the Italian fascist party, which won 35 seats in the 1921 elections. At the same time there seemed to be a real danger of a left-wing revolution; in an atmosphere of strikes and riots, the fascists staged a 'march on Rome', which culminated in King Victor Emmanuel inviting Mussolini to form a government (October 1922); he remained in power until July 1943.
Gradually Mussolini took on the powers of a dictator and attempted to control the entire way of life of the Italian people. At first it seemed as though his authoritarian regime might bring lasting benefits to Italy, and he won popularity with his successful foreign policy.
Later he made the fatal mistake of entering the Second World War on the side of Germany (June 1940), even though he knew Italy could not afford involvement in another war. After the Italians suffered defeats by the British, who captured Italy's African possessions and occupied Sicily, they turned against Mussolini. He was deposed and arrested, but was rescued by the Germans and set up as a puppet ruler in northern Italy, backed by German troops. In April 1945, as British and American troops advanced northwards through Italy towards Milan, Mussolini tried to escape to Switzerland but was captured and shot dead by his Italian enemies (known as 'partisans'). His body was taken to Milan and strung up by the feet in a public square - an ignominious end for the man who had ruled Italy for 20 years.
Between 1926 and 1943, the Fascist regime arrested thousands of Italians and deported them to island internment colonies and small villages in southern Italy. The Fascist state ruled Italy violently, projecting its power deeply and diffusely into society through confinement, imprisonment, low-level physical assaults, economic deprivations, intimidation, discrimination, and other quotidian forms of coercion.
Moreover, by promoting denunciatory practices, the regime cemented the loyalties of “upstanding” citizens while suppressing opponents, dissenters, minorities, and social outsiders. Fascist repression was thus more intense and ideological than previously thought and even shared some important similarities with Nazi and Soviet terror.
Hints of fascist ideologies can still be seen in certain nations today. This authoritarian mindset is a failed ideology of the past and must be chunked into the dustbin of history. The anti fascist movements during Mussolini's rule are a testament to the fact that people can fight against a government if they deprive them of their basic rights and serves as an inspiration to those protesting against governments that do not represent equal beliefs.
The next time you listen to Bella Ciao, make sure you remember its historical significance!
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