The Italian Anarchist Communist Union ( it, Unione comunista anarchica italiana, UCAI), or Italian Anarchist Union ( it, Unione anarchica italiana, UAI), was an Italian political organization founded in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

in 1919. It played an important role during the unrest of the Red Biennium, before it was suppressed by the

fascist regime Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

in 1926.

History

Formation

During the great social unrest of 1919 in Italy, the anarchist movement regained strength. In February 1919, the weekly ''Il Libertario'' directed by Pasquale Binazzi published the appeal for a congress of Italian anarchists. In a situation in which a revolution seemed to be approaching, it seemed essential to have an adequate organization and strategy. From 12 to 14 April 1919 about 200 delegates gathered in

representing 145 groups from 15 different regions. The birth of the Italian Anarchist Communist Union was deliberated as an ideal continuation of the

International Workingmen's Association The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trad ...

(IWA) in Italy and of the Anarchist Revolutionary Socialist Party created at the

Capolago Congress The Capolago congress, a meeting to establish an Italian anarchist federation, was held in Capolago, Switzerland, from January 4–6, 1891. Events The Capolago congress took place in Capolago, Switzerland, from January 4–6, 1891. The meet ...

of 1891. The return to Italy of

Errico Malatesta Errico Malatesta (4 December 1853 – 22 July 1932) was an Italian anarchist propagandist and revolutionary socialist. He edited several radical newspapers and spent much of his life exiled and imprisoned, having been jailed and expelled from ...

in December 1919 and the subsequent birth in

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 ...

of the anarchist newspaper ''

Umanità Nova ''Umanità Nova'' is an Italian anarchist newspaper founded in 1920. It was published daily until 1922 when it was shut down by the fascist regime. In some places, its circulation exceeded that of the socialist paper ''Avanti!'' Upon the fall o ...

'' in February 1920, directed by Malatesta himself, gave further impetus to the development of the movement. While the anarchists relied above all on the Italian Workers' Union (USI), directed by

Armando Borghi Armando may refer to: * Armando (given name) * Armando (artist) (1929–2018), the name used by Dutch artist Herman Dirk van Dodeweerd * Armando (producer) Armando Gallop (sometimes written as Armando Gallup) (February 12, 1970 – December 17, ...

, the attempt to create a revolutionary

united front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political a ...

with 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, ...

(PSI) and the General Confederation of Labour proved to be of little fruit.

The Bologna congress (1920)

The Union's first Congress was held in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

from 1 to 4 July 1920 while the revolt in Ancona was underway, it was attended by delegates from 183 locations representing about 700 groups and almost all the leading exponents of the Italian anarchist movement, like

and

Luigi Fabbri Luigi Fabbri (1877–1935) was an Italian anarchist, writer, and educator, who was charged with defeatism during World War I. He was the father of Luce Fabbri. Selected works *''Life of Malatesta'', translated by Adam Wight (originally publis ...

. The associative pact of the organization (which took the definitive name of the Italian Anarchist Union) and the political program drawn up by Malatesta were approved. The strategy of the revolutionary

was reaffirmed.

From the Biennio Rosso to the Biennio Negro

The

occupation of factories Occupation of factories is a method of the workers' movement used to prevent lock outs. They may sometimes lead to "recovered factories", in which the workers self-manage the factories. They have been used in many strike actions, including: *t ...

(August-September 1920) represented the moment of maximum revolutionary mobilization during the Red Biennium. The substantial failure of the movement marked the beginning of the judicial repression accompanied by the progressive deployment of fascist violence, against which the anarchists tried to react by participating in the constitution of the ''

Arditi del Popolo The ''Arditi del Popolo'' (''The People's Daring Ones'') was an Italian militant anti-fascist group founded at the end of June 1921 to resist the rise of Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party and the violence of the Blackshirts (''squadris ...

'' and initially trying to relaunch unitary action with the other left-wing forces. The union's third congress, held in

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

from 1 to 3 November 1921, highlighted the withdrawal of the movement. "In certain places", wrote ''Umanità Nova'', "the groups are completely in prison". However, 120 delegates were present and the UAI appeared to be developing in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

. Given the previous failures, the hypotheses of an alliance with the

and the

Communist Party of Italy The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current ...

were rejected and a drastically negative judgment was formulated on the Bolshevik dictatorship in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, considered as a betrayal of the original revolutionary objectives.

The fascist repression

After the failure of the 1922 general strike and in the aftermath of the

March on Rome The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, Fa ...

, the political action of the UAI became progressively more difficult. Almost all of the libertarian press, including ''Umanità Nova'' was suppressed, the entire UAI Correspondence Commission was jailed and hundreds of militants were forced to go underground or take refuge abroad. Even raising funds to support prisoners' families became a crime and the related solidarity committees were dissolved by the authorities. The last attempt to keep a semi-legal anarchist organization alive was established in 1925 by the ''Reorganizing Commission of the Italian Anarchist Union'' operating in

, but after the implementation of the fascist laws of November 1926, any legal opposition to the regime became impossible.

Later developments

In the years of the

fascist dictatorship A right-wing dictatorship, sometimes also referred to as a rightist dictatorship or right-wing authoritarianism, is an authoritarian or sometimes totalitarian regime following right-wing policies. Right-wing dictatorships are typically character ...

, the anarchists were active in the anti-fascist opposition and later in the Resistance. In 1945 the Italian Anarchist Federation (FAI) was established which refers to the principles of the Italian Anarchist Union.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Authority control 1919 establishments in Italy 1926 disestablishments in Italy Anarchist organisations in Italy Anarcho-communism Far-left politics in Italy Organizations established in 1919 Organizations disestablished in 1926