Potere Operaio ("Workers' Power") was a radical left-wing Italian political group, active between 1967 and 1973. (It shouldn't be confused with "Potere Operaio Pisano" which was one of the components of a competing revolutionary group, Lotta Continua.) Among the group's leaders were Antonio ('Toni') Negri,

Nanni Balestrini Nanni Balestrini (2 July 1935 – 19 May 2019) was an Italian experimental poet, author and visual artist of the Neoavanguardia movement. Context Nanni Balestrini is associated with the Italian writers' movement Neoavanguardia. He wrote for th ...

Franco Piperno Franco Piperno (born 5 January 1943) is a former communist militant from Italy. He is an associate professor of Condensed Matter Physics in the University of Calabria. Biography Piperno was born in Catanzaro. He graduated in physics at the Univ ...

Oreste Scalzone Oreste Scalzone (born 26 January 1947) is an Italian Marxist intellectual and one of the founders of the communist organization Potere Operaio. Scalzone was born in Terni, Umbria. In 1968 he came to know Franco Piperno, and on 1 March that year h ...

and Valerio Morucci, who led its clandestine armed wing. It was part of the "workerist" movement (''

operaismo Workerism is a political theory that emphasizes the importance of or glorifies the working class. Workerism, or , was of particular significance in Italian left-wing politics. As revolutionary praxis Workerism (or ) is a political analysis, w ...

''), leading to the later development of the

Autonomist Autonomism, also known as autonomist Marxism is an anti-capitalist left-wing political and social movement and theory. As a theoretical system, it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (). Later, post-Marxist and anarchist tendenci ...

movement. ''Potere Operaio'''s main sphere of operations was in factories, especially big factories in the industrial North, and publishing newspapers and leaflets. It sought to base its Marxist theory on the everyday life of supposedly revolutionary factory workers. Potere Operaio officially ceased to exist on 3 June 1973. Most of its core members went on to be involved in

Autonomia Operaia Autonomia Operaia (Italian: ''Workers' Autonomy'') was an Italian leftist movement particularly active from 1976 to 1978. It took an important role in the autonomist movement in the 1970s, alongside earlier organisations such as ''Potere Operaio'', ...

, signalling the shift from operaismo to autonomism. Some of the leaders later drifted towards more radical groups such as the Red Brigades, including Morucci and

Adriana Faranda Adriana Faranda (born 7 August 1950) is an Italian former terrorist, who was a member of the Red Brigades during the kidnapping of Aldo Moro. Biography Faranda was born at Tortorici, in eastern Sicily. Initially a member of Potere Operaio, in ...

, who took part in the Moro murder. Negri was arrested in the late 1970s, accused of being the leader of the Red Brigades, before being cleared of charges. Oreste Scalzone also was arrested, in connection with violent acts. Ex-member Achille Lollo died in August 2021. He had been sentenced for murder and arson for his role in the

Primavalle fire The Primavalle fire (''Rogo di Primavalle'' in Italian) was a political arson-attack that occurred in Rome in 1973. It resulted in the death of two people. Background On 12 April 1973, in Milan, policeman Antonio Marino of the '' Reparto Mobile'' ...

, along with two other members of the group.

References

{{authority control 1967 establishments in Italy 1973 disestablishments in Italy Autonomism Italian left-wing extra-parliamentary groups Communist organisations in Italy Modern history of Italy Marxist organizations Political parties established in 1967 Years of Lead (Italy)

See also

References