Italian Liberation Day: Celebrating Freedom [Video]

Liberation Day is one of Italy’s traditional picnic days. And today’s balmy weather has many people planning one! Which makes me wonder: do all nations have standard picnic days? I only know about here and the USA. Americans, of course, are familiar with picnics on Memorial Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, and others. But ask any Italian and they’ll tell you that picnics are a must on the following holidays.

Traditional Italian Picnic Days

• Pasquetta or Little Easter – the day following Easter
• Liberation Day celebrating freedom from Nazi Germany – April 25
• Labor Day, or International Worker’s Day – May 1
• Republic or Flag Day, for the formation of the Republic – June 2
• Ferragosto for the traditional summer holiday period – August 15

Many Italians celebrate the picnic days with an almost religious zeal. And they don’t skimp on the picnic spread. Normal picnic foods like sandwiches and grilled meats are often preceded by pasta. It all gets washed down with glasses of wine and a thermos of espresso! And followed by dessert.

Hubby and I prefer to visit the parks on less crowded days. Parks usually get crowded and it can be a challenge to find a table. And it’s not easy to find Italian parks with bathrooms.

The first Italian Liberation Day

Italy’s Festa della Liberazione, marks the fall of Mussolini’s Italian Social Republic. And the end of the Nazi occupation in 1945.

Today it’s difficult to imagine the dreary political climate preceding that day. But we know from historical accounts how dark it was.

My thoughts turn to the older Italians I have known. Like my own father-in-law, who fought in Greece. And the fascinating stories of the many elderly we’ve known here over the years.

I think of their wives, sitting at home with the children, fearful for all their lives. Waiting for the war, with its bombs and horrors to end. Wondering when it would come. The end which Italy and many European nations now commemorate.

Old photos like the that above give us a glimpse of the joyous fervor of that first Liberation Day. A momentous day for Italy, and for much of the world. Bringing rays of light to the political climate, and hope to the world at large.

Not only picnics

But Liberation Day isn’t only for picnics. Schools, banks, government offices, and most businesses close on this national holiday. And many places hold political rallies with marching bands and the Italian flag.

You’ll also find air shows, like the one pictured above, displaying the green, white, and red of the Italian flag. Plus food festivals and music concerts featuring the partisan version of the song Bella Ciao (Beauty Goodbye).

Bella Ciao was originally a folk song from the late 19th century sung by the seasonal rice workers, mostly female, in the northern Po valley. It laments the atrocious conditions, long hours, and extremely low pay of rice paddy work. And that the ardous labor was consuming their beauty and youth.

Following are the words to the original version, plus the audio which you can listen to.

In the morning when I get up
Oh beauty goodbye, beauty goodbye
   beauty bye bye bye
In the morning when I get up 
To the rice fields I must go 

And amidst the insects and mosquitoes
Oh beauty goodbye, beauty goodbye
   beauty bye bye bye
Amidst the insects and mosquitoes 
A hard work I must do

The boss stands there with his stick 
Oh beauty goodbye, beauty goodbye
   beauty bye bye bye
The boss stands there with his stick
As we stoop over our work 

Oh mamma mia what affliction
Oh beauty goodbye, beauty goodbye
   beauty bye bye bye
Oh mamma mia what affliction
And I cry to you each day

And every hour that we spend here
Oh beauty goodbye, beauty goodbye
   beauty bye bye bye
And every hour that we spend here
We are losing our youth

But the day will come when we all
Oh beauty goodbye, beauty goodbye
   beauty bye bye bye
The day will come when we all
Will work in liberty

Sometime later the song was rewritten as a celebration of the Italian resistance movement. In this version, a partisan who is leaving to join his brigade bids his beautiful lady goodbye. You can watch a video of this partisan version at the end of the post.

"One morning I got up
Oh Beautiful goodbye, Beautiful goodbye
   Beautiful bye bye bye
One morning I woke up 
And found the invaders 

Oh Partisan, take me away 
Oh Beautiful goodbye, Beautiful goodbye
   Beautiful bye bye bye
Oh Partisan take me away
Because I feel death is coming 

And if I die as a Partisan 
Oh Beautiful goodbye, Beautiful goodbye
   Beautiful bye bye bye
And if die as a Partisan 
You must bury me 

You must bury me up in the mountains 
Oh Beautiful goodbye, Beautiful goodbye
   Beautiful bye bye bye
You must bury me up in the mountains 
In the shade of a beautiful flower

And the people who will pass by
Oh Beautiful goodbye, Beautiful goodbye
   Beautiful bye bye bye
And the people who will pass by 
Will tell me 'what a beautiful flower'

This is the flower of the Partisan
Oh Beautiful goodbye, Beautiful goodbye
   Beautiful bye bye bye
And this is the flower of the Partisan 
Who died for liberty

There can be no doubt that Liberation Day is most appreciated by those who lived through such fearful times. Like the partigiano (partisan) in the above photo, wearing his official partisan cap. Brave men and women who like him struggled against the fascist and Nazi dictators of the day.

Let us hope that it will always be remembered. To help keep us and future generations from making the mistakes of the past. And because all people everywhere deserve the precious gift of freedom from tyranny.

Credits: Airplanes by Alberto U | 1st Liberation Day by Giorgio Agosti | Partisan ceremony by Ugo Franchini | Audio file from Wikipedia.