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Avremmo dovuto provare per saperlo! Bastava ce l'avesse fatta uno solo di noi.

Given the use of the past conditional "avremmo dovuto" in the preceding sentence, I assume that they are talking about a past (conditional) event that actually didn't take place:

They wanted to try doing something but couldn't – they should have – and it would have been enough if just one of them had done it / succeeded.

When the verb "bastare" is involved, do you usually use the combination of Indicativo Imperfetto "bastava" and Congiuntivo Imperfetto "avesse fatta" like this to convey a past conditional meaning?

Incidentally, could it be that "ce" in "Bastava ce" is a colloquial or regional variant of "che" used to introduce a subordinate clause?

Con-gras-tue-les-chiens
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It is a very common colloquial form of the verb bastare used in the following meanings:

Often used in impersonal form, “basta, è sufficiente, non occorre altro, e simili”: per oggi credo che basti; bastava che m’avvertisse.

Special locutions : a) ”Basta che, purché”: basta che tu lo chieda, te lo dànno subito; even with the infinitive (and without che): basta chiedere con buone maniere, si ottiene tutto ciò che si vuole.

A more correct version is

Avremmo dovuto provare ...sarebbe bastato che...

The usage of the particle “ce” is correct, since it does not substitute the conjunction “che” (here omitted) but is part of the following verbal phrase (ce l’avesse fatta, see: farcela) .

(Treccani/DeMauro)

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  • Hi. What is the exact function of "ce" or "ci" in "farcela"? And I hadn't expected that the Congiuntivo "avesse fatta" could immediately follow "bastava" like this without having "che" in between. So is this construction colloquial? – Con-gras-tue-les-chiens Jun 04 '18 at 05:36
  • @Alone-zee Yes, this construction is colloquial. Regarding farcela, if the link in the answer does not help you, why don't you ask it as a separate question? – Denis Nardin Jun 04 '18 at 07:20
  • @DenisNardin Interesting. Do you mean that the Imperfetto construction "Bastava ce l'avesse fatta" itself with the conditional meaning is colloquial, or the fact that the conjunction "che" is dropped is colloquial? – Con-gras-tue-les-chiens Jun 04 '18 at 12:12
  • @Alone-zee Both are colloquial, but dropping the che more so (and in fact I'd go as far as discouraging the latter). – Denis Nardin Jun 04 '18 at 12:26