Bruno Fortichiari (8 February 1892 – 4 January 1981) was an Italian politician and

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

revolutionary. He was among the founders of the Communist Party of Italy (PCd'I) in 1921.

Biography

Born in

Luzzara Luzzara ( Guastallese: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Reggio Emilia, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is located at the northern end of the province, on the right bank of the river Po. Luzzara is the birthplace of the composer Maurizio Cazzat ...

(

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

), Fortichiari began his activity as a journalist and socialist activist at an early age, and, in the early 1910s, he met

Amadeo Bordiga Amadeo Bordiga (13 June 1889 – 25 July 1970) was an Italian Marxist theorist, revolutionary socialist, founder of the Communist Party of Italy (PCI), member of the Communist International (Comintern) and later a leading figure of the Interna ...

. In December 1912 he was appointed responsible of the

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

ese section of the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892, ...

. He was the author of the order that expelled the pro-

National Syndicalist National syndicalism is a far-right adaptation of syndicalism to suit the broader agenda of integral nationalism. National syndicalism developed in France in the early 20th century, and then spread to Italy, Spain, and Portugal. It is generall ...

and future

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

ruler

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

from the party in 1914, and, in contrast to Mussolini, was among the foremost opponents in first line to protest against the Italian intervention in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After the war he was instrumental to all the events that led to the founding of the PCd'I in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

(January 21, 1921). He was a member of the executive committee of the new grouping, together with Bordiga,

Ruggero Grieco Ruggero Grieco (19 August 1893 – 23 July 1955) was an Italian politician, antifascist, and member of the Italian Communist Party (''Italian: Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI''). He was born in Foggia, Apulia. Early life Grieco completed high s ...

Luigi Repossi is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...

and

Umberto Terracini Umberto Elia Terracini (Genoa, 27 July 1895 – Rome, 6 December 1983) was an Italian politician. Biography Early years Terracini was born in Genoa on 27 July 1895 to a Jewish family originally from Piedmont. After completing his elementa ...

, with responsibility for the illegal activities against the increasing success of Fascist forces in repressing

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

forces. He was elected to the

Italian Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies ( it, Camera dei deputati) is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Senate of the Republic). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical funct ...

in 1924. When all the Italian Communist deputies were arrested (November 8, 1926), Fortichiari was sentenced to five years of

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

, but he was released after one year for being affected by

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. He moved to Milan, but here he met difficulties to find a regular job, which were aggravated by his expulsion from the PCI in 1929. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he entered in contact with members of the

Internationalist Communist Party Internationalist Communist Party may refer to: * Internationalist Communist Party (France) The Internationalist Communist Party (french: Parti Communiste Internationaliste, PCI) was a Trotskyist political party in France. It was the name taken ...

, a group led by ex-PCI members who disagreed with the moderate politics of the party in opposition to

Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...

demands. Despite the PCI's campaign against him, Fortichiari was readmitted in its ranks after the war, although he held secondary positions and was under a strict control of the party cadres, who were arguably weary of his intact charisma as the main figure inside an anti-

Stalinist Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...

current. In 1956, he was again expelled from PCI. He remained active until his death, apart a hiatus in 1965-1970, trying to collect the dissension against the party's official doctrine in the

communist left Left communism, or the communist left, is a position held by the left wing of communism, which criticises the political ideas and practices espoused by Marxist–Leninists and social democrats. Left communists assert positions which they reg ...

movement. Fortichiari died in Milan. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortichiari, Bruno 1892 births 1981 deaths People from the Province of Reggio Emilia Italian Socialist Party politicians Italian Communist Party politicians Deputies of Legislature XXVII of the Kingdom of Italy Members of the National Council (Italy) Left communists Bordigism Italian Aventinian secessionists