Watch soap2day. For decades, wherever people have fought against injustice, they have sung “Bella ciao.” It is said to have been the anthem of Italian partisans fighting against fascism in the Second World War, but there are those who doubt the truth of this. The origins of the song are unclear. Was it a folk song favored by exploited workers in the rice fields in Italy? The accounts of various speakers are richly illustrated with archive material.