We derive both local and global generalized Bianchi identities for classical Lagrangian field theories on gauge-natural bundles. We show that globally defined generalized Bianchi identities can be found without the a priori introduction of a connection. The proof is based on a global decomposition of the variational Lie derivative of the generalized Euler-Lagrange morphism and the representation of the corresponding generalized Jacobi morphism on gauge-natural bundles. In particular, we show that...