Is 'Bella Ciao' a song from Italy?

Answer 1

Yes and no. Yes, the words are Italian. But no, Yiddish Folk Music may be the musical source. Specifically, the lyrics whose refrain and title are 'Bella, ciao' belong to a song of the Italian resistance movement during the Second World War. The movement opposed the fascist government of Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini [July 29, 1883-April 28, 1945].

The lyric's author is unknown. It long was thought that the music was borrowed from a folk song of Italian rice weeders in the Po river valley. But expert opinion is changing in regard to the music's source. In 2006, Fausto Giovannardi identified as the musical source of 'Bella, ciao' a Yiddish folk melody that was performed as early as 1919, by Mishka Ziganoff.

The phrase 'Bella, Ciao' tends to translate into English as 'Sweetheart, Goodbye'. The feminine adjective 'bella'literally means 'beautiful, handsome'. The interjection 'ciao' means 'hello' and 'goodbye'. Together, they're pronounced 'BEHL-lah chow'.*

*The sound 'ow' is similar to the sound in the English adverb 'how'.