HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lotta Continua (LC; en, Continuous Struggle) was a
far-left Far-left politics, also known as the radical left or the extreme left, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single definition. Some scholars conside ...
paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
organization in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. It was founded in autumn 1969 by a split in the student-worker movement of
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, which had started militant activity at the universities and factories such as
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...
. The first issue of ''Lotta Continua''s 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
student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementa ...
s and
youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...
to
workers The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic reg ...
, and played a large role in setting up
social centres Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole c ...
. 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 Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) 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 (PSI) ...
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 Sofri, Mauro Rostagno, Guido Viale, Giorgio Pietrostefani,
Erri De Luca Enrico "Erri" De Luca (born 20 May 1950, Naples) is an Italian novelist, translator and poet. He has been recognized by critic Giorgio De Rienzo of ''Corriere della Sera'' as "the writer of the decade". He is also known for his opposition to th ...
, Paolo Brogi and
Marco Boato Marco Boato (born 27 July 1944 in Venice) is an Italian politician. Biography In 1969 Boato was one of the founders, together with Adriano Sofri, Paolo Sorbi, Mauro Rostagno, Guido Viale, Paolo Brogi and Giorgio Pietrostefani, of the commu ...
. Other notable contributors included Gad Lerner and
Alexander Langer Alexander Langer (22 February 1946 – 3 July 1995) was an Italian journalist, peace activist, politician, translator, and teacher. Biography Born on 22 February 1946 in Sterzing, South Tyrol, a province of Italy inhabited by a German-speaking ...
. Since Italian law required that every newspaper needed a professional journalist to act as its managing editor, for some time
Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
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 armed organizations, including
Prima Linea Prima Linea (in English: "Front Line", literally "First Line") was an Italian left-wing terrorist group, active in the country from the late 1970s until the early 1980s. Context Following the 1969-70 large-scale series of industrial action ...
and the
Red Brigades The Red Brigades ( it, Brigate Rosse , often abbreviated BR) was a far-left Marxist–Leninist armed organization operating as a terrorist and guerrilla group based in Italy responsible for numerous violent incidents, including the abduction ...
. 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 (
RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
or
Fininvest Finanziaria d'investimento Fininvest S.p.A., known as Fininvest S.p.A., is an Italian holding company controlled by the Berlusconi family and managed by Silvio Berlusconi's eldest daughter Marina Berlusconi. Structure The Fininvest group is c ...
) or in various newspapers. Many joined 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 189 ...
(PSI), supporting in particular
Bettino Craxi Benedetto "Bettino" Craxi ( , , ; 24 February 1934 – 19 January 2000) was an Italian politician, leader of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) from 1976 to 1993, and the 45th prime minister of Italy from 1983 to 1987. He was the first PSI membe ...
's positions.
Erri De Luca Enrico "Erri" De Luca (born 20 May 1950, Naples) is an Italian novelist, translator and poet. He has been recognized by critic Giorgio De Rienzo of ''Corriere della Sera'' as "the writer of the decade". He is also known for his opposition to th ...
became a famous writer after joining various humanitarian organizations. Only a few of them, such as Marco Revelli and Fulvio Grimaldi, joined ''
Rifondazione Comunista The Communist Refoundation Party ( it, Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, PRC) is a communist political party in Italy that emerged from a split of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1991. The party's secretary is Maurizio Acerbo, who replac ...
''.


Controversies

* On 17 May 1972 the Milan police commissioner, Luigi Calabresi, thought to be responsible for
Giuseppe Pinelli Giuseppe "Pino" Pinelli (21 October 1928 – 15 December 1969) was an Italian railroad worker and anarchist, who died while being detained by Italian police in 1969. Pinelli was a member of the Milan-based anarchist association named Ponte d ...
's death, was killed. Adriano Sofri 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 Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...
(
Democrats of the Left The Democrats of the Left ( it, Democratici di Sinistra, DS) was a social-democratic political party in Italy. The DS, successor of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Italian Communist Party, was formed in 1998 upon the merger of th ...
, DS) because of health reasons. * On 11 March 1977 Francesco Lorusso, a militant of Lotta Continua was killed 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 na ...
. * On 1 October 1977, during a protest march in Turin, activists allegedly attacked a bar with
Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with fla ...
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.


See also

* A luta continua *
Prima Linea Prima Linea (in English: "Front Line", literally "First Line") was an Italian left-wing terrorist group, active in the country from the late 1970s until the early 1980s. Context Following the 1969-70 large-scale series of industrial action ...
* Potere Operaio * Autonomia Operaia


References

{{Authority control 1969 establishments in Italy Terrorism in Italy Autonomism Communist organisations in Italy Factions of the Years of Lead (Italy) Left-wing militant groups in Italy Political parties established in 1969 Political opposition