Lotta Continua was a
far leftFar left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...
extra-parliamentaryAn extra-parliamentary opposition is a political movement opposed to a ruling government or political party that chooses not to engage in elections...
organization in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It was founded in autumn 1969 by a split in the student-worker movement of
TurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, which had started militant activity at the universities and factories such as
FiatFIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
. The first issue of
Lotta Continuas eponymous newspaper was published in November 1969, and publication continued until 1982 after the organization disbanded in 1976.
Focusing
Lotta Continua focused on spreading radicalisation from
studentA student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s and
youthYouth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
to
workersWorking class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
, and played a large role in setting up
social centreSocial centers are community spaces. They are buildings which are used for a range of disparate activities, which can be linked only by virtue of being not-for-profit. They might be organizing centers for local activities or they might provide support networks for minority groups such as prisoners...
s. Its influence was greatest among recently-immigrated, young, unqualified workers in large factories, while the "traditional" working class kept its allegiance to the
Italian Communist PartyThe Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
and the trade union movement.
Among the newspaper's enduring features was Roberto Zamarin's comic strip "Gasparazzo", which poignantly and humorously related the struggles of a worker at a Fiat plant.
The group's leadership included
Adriano SofriAdriano Sofri is an Italian intellectual, a journalist and a writer.Former leader of the autonomist movement Lotta Continua in the 1960s, he was arrested in 1988 and convicted to 22 years of prison, having been found guilty of being the instigator of the murder of Luigi Calabresi, a police...
, Mauro Rostagno, Guido Viale, Giorgio Pietrostefani, Paolo Brogi and Marco Boato. Other notable contributors included
Gad LernerGad Lerner is an Italian journalist and writer.-Career:A member of the Jewish community, he began his news career in 1976, writing for the ultra-leftist daily Lotta Continua, belonging to the eponymous political entity, becoming its deputy director...
and
Alexander LangerAlexander Langer was a journalist, peace activist, politician, translator, and teacher.Born on February 22, 1946 in Sterzing, South Tyrol, a province of Italy inhabited by a German-speaking population, he became involved early on in local political issues, which at the time centered on the...
. Since Italian law required that every newspaper needed a professional journalist to act as its "responsible editor", for some time
Pier Paolo PasoliniPier Paolo Pasolini was an Italian film director, poet, writer, and intellectual. Pasolini distinguished himself as a poet, journalist, philosopher, linguist, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, newspaper and magazine columnist, actor, painter and political figure...
lent his name in order to allow Lotta Continua's publication.
At first a loose grouping with a focus on spontaneous action, it was centralised between 1972 and 1974, with its paper becoming a daily. As opportunities became more limited, it disbanded in 1976 after a national congress characterized by a severe ideological clash between male and female militants. At that time, Sofri and others embraced electoral politics, while some militants joined terrorist organizations, including
Prima LineaPrima Linea was an Italian Marxist-Leninist terrorist group of the 1970s. It was formed in 1976 by members of hard-line factions within the far left, extra-parliamentary organization Lotta Continua, which disbanded that year, together with members of Potere Operaio and of other far left groups...
and the
Red BrigadesThe Red Brigades was a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organisation, based in Italy, which was responsible for numerous violent incidents, assassinations, and robberies during the so-called "Years of Lead"...
. The newspaper was published until 1982.
During the 1980s, most of
Lotta Continua 's representatives abandoned their original ideology. Marco Boato and Mimmo Pinto went to the Radical Party, others worked on TV (
RAIRAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
or
FininvestFininvest is a financial holding company controlled by Silvio Berlusconi's family and managed by Silvio Berlusconi's eldest daughter Marina Berlusconi.-Structure:...
) or in various newspapers. Many joined the
Italian Socialist PartyThe Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II...
(PSI), supporting in particular
Bettino CraxiBenedetto Craxi was an Italian politician, head of the Italian Socialist Party from 1976 to 1993, the first socialist President of the Council of Ministers of Italy from 1983 to 1987.-Political career:...
's positions.
Erri De Luca Erri De Luca is an Italian novelist, translator and poet. He has been defined as "the writer of the decade" by the Corriere della Sera literature critic Giorgio De Rienzo.-Biography:...
became a famous writer after joining various humanitarian organizations. Only a few of them, such as Marco Revelli or Fulvio Grimaldi, joined
Rifondazione Comunista.
Controversies
- On May 17, 1972, the Milan police commissioner Luigi Calabresi
Luigi Calabresi , recipient of a gold medal of the Italian Republic for civil valor, was a commissioner of Italian police in Milan....
, was killed. Adriano SofriAdriano Sofri is an Italian intellectual, a journalist and a writer.Former leader of the autonomist movement Lotta Continua in the 1960s, he was arrested in 1988 and convicted to 22 years of prison, having been found guilty of being the instigator of the murder of Luigi Calabresi, a police...
and Giorgio Pietrostefani, former leaders of Lotta Continua, were condemned to long prison sentences for organizing the murder, and Ovidio Bompressi and Leonardo Marino for carrying it out, after legal proceedings which were regarded as controversial. Ovidio Bompressi is one of the few political activists who has been pardoned (in May 2006) by Italian president Giorgio NapolitanoGiorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to...
(Democrats of the LeftThe Democrats of the Left was a social-democratic Italian political party and part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition, which merged with a number of centrist and leftist groups to form the Democratic Party on 14 October 2007...
, DS) because of health reasons.
- On October 1, 1977, during a protest march in Turin, activists allegedly attacked a bar with Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
s. Roberto Crescenzio, a 23-year old student, died of burns sustained in this attack. Lotta Continua militants were accused of committing this attack, but were eventually cleared in court.