O BELLA CIAO

Stories of boys and girls in the resistance.

Why is it still important to talk about resistance?
In an age when the past seems both distant and, at the same time, tragically destined to repeat itself, when there are those who wish to ban resistance songs from the classrooms. We risk losing our memory of this important, diverse, well-organised Resistance. We risk forgetting the names of those who fought and were killed, and the ideals they believed in. There are those who try to label the Resistance with political connotations, when instead it belongs to us all. This is why it is so very important to rediscover the stories that make up history. To get to know their multifaceted aspects, identify with them, and ask ourselves: “What would I have done?”.
“O Bella Ciao” is a collection of children’s stories told from the point of view of children playing their role in acts of small or great heroism, making difficult choices, committing acts of rebellion, and dreaming of freedom.
The adventures described are freely inspired by true events from the north and south of Italy, in an imagined map of the Italian resistance.

• Describes the Liberation and the Resistance establishing a connection between the reader and the protagonists of the stories: not inaccessible heroes but ordinary kids facing extraordinary choices.
• Shows the various aspects and challenges of a historical period as complex as it is important to discover.