[9] The Sardines movement started as a flash mob on 14 November 2019, organized in Piazza Maggiore, the main square of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna.

[15] Emilia-Romagna has been a stronghold of left-wing parties since the end of the World War II, but in the 2018 general election the centre-right coalition became the largest political force in the region.

[16] The first Sardines' rally was warmly welcomed by the Democratic Party (PD), especially by its secretary Nicola Zingaretti, its president and former Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and Emilia-Romagna incumbent governor Stefano Bonaccini.

[17][18][19] Former Prime Minister and PD's founding father, Romano Prodi, stated that the Sardines are "formidable", adding that they must not be neither "colonized" nor "exploited" by any party.

The rally was characterized by a 6-hour long concert with singers and artists like Afterhours, Subsonica, Marracash, Matilda De Angelis, Skiantos, Casa del vento, Bandabardò, Modena City Ramblers, Marlene Kuntz and Pif.

[9] In 2022 some members of the Sardines, alongside the Purple People, organized some rallies against the candidacy of Silvio Berlusconi in the 2022 Italian Presidential election, though the protests were small and poorly attended.

[43][44] According to some political commentators, the movement would be limited only to a generic critique of the right-wing, with its open opposition to Matteo Salvini, who it depicted as an authoritarian and undemocratic leader.