Grey crewneck with mondine design.
 
Merch will be printed by French Press.
 
Future pre-sales to be announced!
 
You’ve probably heard the popular Italian song “Bella Ciao” on tv or social media at some point over the last few years. Over the last two centuries, it has become an anthem for resistance against oppression and fascism. When it was first sung by le mondine, the women who worked in the Italian rice paddies in the Po valley, in the early 1900s, it was a song about their backbreaking labour and terrible working conditions. The original lyrics tell the story of their long hours and cruel bosses, as they toiled in mosquito-ridden fields, making them prone to malaria, malnourishment, and miscarriages. In this culture of activism, many mondine eventually joined the Italian partisan cause against fascism, as they had largely been involved in left-wing organizations and parties since the early 20th century. Though they protested loudly through song and direct action, their stories have largely been ignored in the narratives of partisan organizing in Italy. We celebrate the legacy of the mondine, and the important (yet often overlooked) role labourers and women play in movements for justice and freedom. 
 
Ma verrà un giorno che tutte quante
o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
ma verrà un giorno che tutte quante
lavoreremo in libertà.
 
(Original mondine lyrics to Bella Ciao)