Direction Italy ( it, Direzione Italia, DI) was a

liberal-conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

political party in Italy This article contains a list of political parties in Italy since Italian unification in 1861. Throughout history, numerous political parties have been operating in Italy, and since World War II no party has ever gained enough support to govern ...

. The party was led by

Raffaele Fitto Raffaele Fitto (born 28 August 1969) is an Italian politician and a member of the European Parliament. He is serving as the minister of European affairs in the Meloni Cabinet since 2022. Career Born in Maglie, Fitto was elected in 1999 at Europe ...

, an MEP in the

European Conservatives and Reformists The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) is a soft Eurosceptic, anti- federalist political group of the European Parliament. The ECR is the parliamentary group of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party) European pol ...

(ECR) group.

History

The party was formed in January 2017 during a convention in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, which saw the participation of several parties, including Fitto's Conservatives and Reformists (CoR) – formed mainly by splinters from

Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...

(FI), of which they formed the "Rebuilders" faction, in 2015 –, the

Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party ( it, Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) was a liberal and conservative political party in Italy. The PLI, which is the heir of the liberal currents of both the Historical Right and the Historical Left, was a minor party ...

(PLI), the

Friuli-Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...

-based

Responsible Autonomy Responsible Autonomy ( it, Autonomia Responsabile, AR) is a centrist to centre-right political party active in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The party was launched as a "civic list" in support of Renzo Tondo, incumbent President of The People of ...

(AR), the

Sardinian Reformers The Sardinian Reformers ( it, Riformatori Sardi, RS) is a liberal-conservative and regionalist, Christian-democratic political party in Sardinia, led by Michele Cossa. The party, which has always been part of the centre-right at the Sardinian re ...

(RS) and

Together for Molise ''ToGetHer'' (, aka Superstar Express) is a 2009 Taiwanese drama starring Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit, Rainie Yang and George Hu. It was produced by Comic International Productions ( 可米國際影視事業股份有限公司) and directed by Linzi ...

(IpM). The aforementioned parties might retain some or all of their autonomy. In May 2017 the seven senators of DI joined the

Great Autonomies and Freedom Great Autonomies and Freedom ( it, Grandi Autonomie e Libertà, GAL) was a miscellaneous and highly heterogeneous, mainly centre-right politics, centre-right, regionalism (politics), regionalist and Christian democracy, Christian-democratic, parl ...

(GAL) group, composed primarily of minor centre-right parties, while the CoR sub-group in the Chamber maintained its name for some time. In the 2017 local elections the party increased the CoR's vote in

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

(Fitto's heartland), but failed to make inroads outside the region (1.1% in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, 1.2% in

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandria ...

, 2.2% in

Rieti Rieti (; lat, Reate, Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina re ...

, etc.) and the party's Apulian most notable results were in

Canosa di Puglia Canosa di Puglia, generally known simply as Canosa ( nap, label= Canosino, Canaus), is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia, southern Italy. It is located between Bari and Foggia, on the northwestern edge of the ...

(20.2%),

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

(17.5%),

Casarano Casarano (Salentino: ) is a town and sixth most populous ''comune'' in the Italian province of Lecce, in the Apulia region of South-East Italy. The town's economy is mostly agriculture-based, with olive oil being the main product. The Church of San ...

(13.5%), and

Martina Franca Martina Franca, or just Martina ( Martinese: ), is a town and ''municipality'' in the province of Taranto, Apulia, Italy. It is the second most populated town of the province after Taranto, and has a population (2016) of 49,086. Since 1975, th ...

(11.6%). In June 2017 Fitto was unanimously re-elected president at the party's first national congress. In Parliament the party suffered the loss of Rocco Palese, leader in the Chamber and long-time ally of Fitto, who switched back to FI, while welcoming two splinters from the

Civics and Innovators Civics and Innovators ( it, Civici e Innovatori, CI) was a centrist and liberal sub-group within the Mixed Group (previously a parliamentary group) in the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament. Its leader was Giovanni Monchiero. The CI ...

sub-group,

Pierpaolo Vargiu Pierpaolo is a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: *Pierpaolo Bisoli (born 1966), Italian football player and manager *Pierpaolo Cristofori (born 1956), Italian modern pentathlete *Pierpaolo De Negri (born 1986), Ita ...

(a member of the RS) and

Salvatore Matarrese Salvatore may refer to: * Salvatore (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name * "Salvatore" (song), by Lana Del Rey, 2015 * Salvatore (band), a Norwegian instrumental rock band * '' Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams' ...

, both elected with

Civic Choice Civic Choice ( it, Scelta Civica; SC) was a centrist and liberal political party in Italy founded by Mario Monti. The party was formed in the run-up of the 2013 general election to support the outgoing Prime Minister Monti and continue his polit ...

(SC) in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

. CoR's sub-group within the Chamber's

Mixed Group The mixed group ( it, Gruppo Misto, GM) is a parliamentary group active in both houses of the Italian Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The groups comprise all the deputies and the senators, respectively, who are not members of ...

was contextually renamed "Direction Italy" and Cosimo Latronico was selected as new sub-group leader. In July 2017 another deputy,

Maurizio Bianconi Maurizio is an Italian masculine given name, derived from the Roman name Mauritius. Mauritius is a derivative of Maurus, meaning ''dark-skinned, Moorish''. List of people with the given name Maurizio Art and music * Maurizio Arcieri (born 1945), ...

, left the party. In November two deputies, Trifone Altieri and Roberto Marti, switched to Us with Salvini, while

Renata Bueno Renata is an Italian, Polish, Tatarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Germanian, Sweden, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Czech, and Lithuanian feminine given name. See Renatus. In Francophone countries there is a cognate name Renée. The following people ...

of the

South American Union Italian Emigrants The South American Union of Italian Emigrants ( it, Unione Sudamericana Emigrati Italiani, USEI) is an Italian political party representing Italian minorities in South America, especially Argentina and Brazil. Its leader is , who was elected to ...

joined just the sub-group. In December 2017 DI was a founding member of

Us with Italy Us with Italy ( it, Noi con l'Italia, NcI) is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Italy. NcI started as a federation of minor centre-right parties and, as such, was part of the centre-right coalition in the 2018 gen ...

(NcI), a pro-

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...

centrist electoral list within the

centre-right coalition The centre-right coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-destra) is an alliance of political parties in Italy, active—under several forms and names—since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed his Forza Italia party. Despite ...

for the 2018 general election, along with SC, Act! (F!), splinters from

Popular Alternative Popular Alternative ( it, Alternativa Popolare, AP) is a Christian democracy, Christian-democratic list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy that was founded on 18 March 2017 after the dissolution of New Centre-Right (NCD), one ...

(AP – two groups, a liberal one led by Enrico Costa and a Christian-democratic one led by

Maurizio Lupi Maurizio Lupi (born 3 October 1959) is an Italian politician. He served as minister of infrastructure and transport between 28 April 2013 and 20 March 2015. Early life and education Lupi was born in Milan, Italy, on 3 October 1959. He has a deg ...

Cantiere Popolare Cantiere Popolare (translatable into ''Popular construction site'') is a Christian-democratic political party in Italy, based in Sicily. The party's leader is Francesco Saverio Romano, a former Sicilian leader of the Union of the Centre and, lat ...

(CP) and the

Movement for the Autonomies The Movement for Autonomy ( it, Movimento per l'Autonomia, MpA) is a regionalism (politics), regionalist, Christian democracy, Christian-democratic list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy, based in Sicily. The MpA, whose found ...

(MpA). NcI was later enlarged to the Union of the Centre (UdC) and

Identity and Action Identity and Action ( it, Identità e Azione, IDeA) is a conservative political party in Italy, whose membership stretches from Christian democracy to liberal conservatism. The party's leader is Gaetano Quagliariello, a former minister for Inst ...

(IdeA), with the goal of reaching 3%, required to win seats from proportional lists under a new electoral law, but the list just won a 1.2% of the vote. On 6 December 2018 Fitto announced a federative pact with

Brothers of Italy Brothers of Italy ( it, Fratelli d'Italia, FdI) is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Italy. It is led by Giorgia Meloni, the incumbent Prime Minister of Italy and the first woman to serve in the position. Accor ...

, which it joins definitively on 29 October 2019.

Leadership

*President:

(2017–2019) *Party Leader in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

: Rocco Palese (2017), Cosimo Latronico (2017–2018) *Party Leader in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

: Lucio Tarquinio (2017–2018) *Party Leader in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

(2017–2019)

References

External links

Official websiteBlue Convention
{{Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe 2017 establishments in Italy 2019 disestablishments in Italy Political parties established in 2017 Political parties disestablished in 2019 Defunct political parties in Italy Conservative parties in Italy Christian democratic parties in Italy Catholic political parties Eurosceptic parties in Italy