| Years of Lead | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theCold War | ||||||||
 Aftermath ofBologna massacre railway station bombing by theneo-fascistNuclei Armati Rivoluzionari in 1980, which killed 85 people in the deadliest attack during the Years of Lead | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Belligerents | ||||||||
Supported by: | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
| Units involved | ||||||||
 Armed Forces: +90,000 soldiers[4][5] (1973) Gladio: 622 members |  BR: Several thousand active members PL: 1,072 members and collaborators O22: 25 members[6] PAC: 60 militants[7] AO: 200 members[8] |  Ordine Nuovo: 10,000[9] National Vanguard: 600–2,000 members at varying times[10] NAR: 53 members Terza Posizione: 42[11] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||
Carabinieri: State Police:
 United States: 1 killed in total |
| Ordine Nuovo: At least 3 arrested NAR: 53 arrested[18][19] Terza Posizione: 42 indicted | ||||||
| Total deaths (including civilians): 428, c. 2,000 physical and psychological injuries[20] | ||||||||
TheYears of Lead (Italian:Anni di piombo) were a period of social and political turmoil inItaly that lasted from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, marked by a wave of bothfar-left andfar-right politicalterrorism.
The Years of Lead are sometimes considered to have begun with the1968 movement in Italy and theHot Autumnstrikes starting in 1969;[21]the death of the policemanAntonio Annarumma in November 1969;[22]thePiazza Fontana bombing in December of that year, which killed 17 and was perpetrated byright-wing terrorists inMilan; and the death shortly after ofanarchist workerGiuseppe Pinelli while in police custody under suspicion of being responsible for the attack, which he was ultimately deemed as not having committed.[23]
The conflict involved violent struggles between militantneo-fascist and far-left organizations, as well as the Italian state. Neo-fascist groups pursued a campaign of indiscriminate bombings and massacres known as the "strategy of tension", which sought to sow panic, blame the left, and provoke an authoritarian coup. Far-left groups, most prominently theRed Brigades, carried out targeted assassinations, kidnappings, and bombings intended to destabilize the state and inspire aproletarian revolution. This political violence emerged from a backdrop of widespread social unrest following thepost-war economic boom, and disillusionment with the mainstream political parties, primarily the rulingChristian Democracy and theItalian Communist Party.
Major attacks of the period include the 1969Piazza Fontana bombing, the 1974Piazza della Loggia bombing, and the 1978kidnapping and murder of former prime minister Aldo Moro by the Red Brigades. The deadliest single attack of the era was the 1980Bologna massacre, which killed 85 people. Between 1968 and 1988, the conflict resulted in 428 deaths and approximately 2,000 injuries attributed to political violence.[20]
The violence began to decline in the early 1980s following the arrest of key Red Brigades leaders and the introduction of anti-terrorism laws that encouraged militants to become state witnesses (pentiti). Parliamentary inquiries later revealed the covert involvement of rogue elements within Italian intelligence services and the secretPropaganda Due (P2)Masonic lodge in the far-right's strategy of tension. Some of these operations were also linked to NATO's "stay-behind" network in Italy. Although most armed groups were dismantled by the end of the 1980s, the Years of Lead have left a profound impact on Italian politics and society.
The term's origin possibly came as a reference to the number of shootings during the period,[24] or a popular 1981 German film, calledMarianne and Juliane in English after the main characters, but released in Italy asAnni di piombo, close to the original title,Die bleierne Zeit (TheLeaden Time), which refers tothe 1950s in West Germany which were perceived as conservative and suppressive by a future female terrorist. After her West German far-left militant groupRed Army Faction (RAF) gained notoriety during the 1970s, kidnapping and killing dozens, its leaders died in 1977 in prison. Their Italian counterpart, theRed Brigades, copied one of RAF's 1977German Autumn crimes in the 1978kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro.
The Years of Lead emerged from the widespread social unrest of the late 1960s. The turmoil was fuelled by the rapid and disruptive social changes of the post-warItalian economic miracle, which saw a mass exodus from rural areas and the explosive, often chaotic growth of cities. This transformation, combined with the paralysis of the political system—dominated by theChristian Democracy (DC) in a permanent but unstable coalition—created deep-seated tensions. Expectations for reform in housing, education, and social services, raised by the briefcentre-left experiment of the early 1960s, remained largely unfulfilled, leading to profound disillusionment.[25]
This unrest coalesced into two major movements: the student movement and the workers' movement. The Italian student movement, part of the globalProtests of 1968, began in late 1967. It was driven by the crisis of an education system that had expanded massively but remained chronically underfunded, overcrowded, and unreformed. The movement quickly developed a radical anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist critique, challenging not only university structures but also the values of consumer society and the traditional nuclear family.[26] It drew ideological inspiration from a mixture of dissident Catholicism, a revival of Marxist thought outside the traditional Communist Party, and international events such as theVietnam War and theCultural Revolution.[27]
The student protests intersected with a powerful wave of labour unrest that culminated in the "Hot Autumn" (Autunno caldo) of 1969. This period saw millions of workers, particularly in the northern industrial centres, engage in massive strikes. The militancy was especially strong among the new generation of semi-skilled workers, many of whom were recent migrants from Southern Italy, who found themselves working in rigid, alienating assembly-line conditions.[28] Student activists joined workers on picket lines, and new forms of struggle emerged, including wildcat strikes and factory occupations, which challenged both management authority and the control of traditional trade unions.[29] While the unions ultimately reasserted their leadership and secured a landmark national contract for metalworkers in late 1969, the "Hot Autumn" fundamentally changed the balance of power in the factories and demonstrated a new potential for mass collective action.[30]
It was in this climate of intense social conflict and revolutionary expectation that armed political violence began to escalate. On the far left, small groups emerged from the student and worker movements, disillusioned with the perceived moderation of theItalian Communist Party (PCI) and committed to overthrowing the state through armed struggle.[31] On the far right, neo-fascist groups, politically marginalized since the fall ofBenito Mussolini, initiated the "strategy of tension" — a campaign of indiscriminate bombings designed to create panic, discredit the left, and provoke an authoritarian coup d'état.[32] The first major attack of this campaign, thePiazza Fontana bombing of December 1969, is often cited as the symbolic start of the Years of Lead.[32]
Red Brigades (1970–1988)[N 13]Front Line (1976–1981)[N 14]October 22 Group (1969–1971)[N 15]PAC (1976–1979)[N 16]Continuous Struggle (1969–1976)[N 17]Workers' Power (1967–1973)[N 18]Workers' Autonomy (1973–1979)[N 19]New Order (1957–1973)[N 20]National Vanguard (1960–1976)[N 21]Black Order (1974–1978)[36]NAR (1977–1981)[N 22]Third Position (1978–1982)[N 23]
Propaganda Due[37][38]
SISMI (factions)[39]
CIA (alleged)[40][41][42]Public protests shook Italy during 1969, with the workers' rights movement andautonomist student movement being particularly active, leading to theoccupation of theFiat Mirafiori automobile factory inTurin.
On 19 November 1969,Antonio Annarumma, a Milanese policeman, was killed during a riot by far-left demonstrators.[43][44] He was the first civil servant to die in the wave of violence.
TheVictor Emmanuel II Monument, theBanca Nazionale del Lavoro in Rome and theBanca Commerciale Italiana and theBanca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Milan were bombed in December.
Local police arrested 80 or so suspects from left-wing groups, includingGiuseppe Pinelli, an anarchist initially blamed for the bombing, andPietro Valpreda. Their guilt was denied by left-wing members, especially by members of thestudent movement, then prominent in Milan's universities, as they believed that the bombing was carried out by fascists. Following the death of Giuseppe Pinelli, who mysteriously died on 15 December while in police custody, the radical left-wing newspaperLotta Continua started a campaign accusing police officerLuigi Calabresi of Pinelli's murder.[23][3] In 1975, Calabresi and other police officials were acquitted by judgeGerardo D'Ambrosio who decided that Pinelli's fall from a window had been caused by him becoming ill and losing his balance.[45][46]
Meanwhile, the anarchist Valpreda and five others were convicted and jailed for the bombing. They were released after three years ofpreventive detention. Then, two neo-fascists,Franco Freda (resident inPadua) andGiovanni Ventura, were arrested and accused of organizing the massacre before being acquitted by the Supreme Court in 1987 for lack of evidence.[47]
In the 1990s, new investigations into the Piazza Fontana bombing, citing new witnesses' testimony, implicated Freda and Ventura again. However, the pair cannot be put on trial again because ofdouble jeopardy, as they were acquitted of the crime in 1987.[48]
TheRed Brigades were founded in August 1970 byRenato Curcio andMargherita (Mara) Cagol, who had met as students at theUniversity of Trento and later married,[23] andAlberto Franceschini.
While the Trento group around Curcio had its main roots in the Sociology Department of the Catholic University, the Reggio Emilia group (around Franceschini) mostly included former members of the FGCI (the Communist youth movement) expelled from the parent party for their extremist views.[23]
Another group of militants came from the Sit-Siemens factories in Milan; these wereMario Moretti, a union official,Corrado Alunni, who would leave the Red Brigades to found another organization "fighter", andAlfredo Buonavita, a blue-collar worker.[23]
The first action of the RB was burning the car of Giuseppe Leoni (a leader of Sit-Siemens company in Milan) on 17 September 1970, in the context of the labour unrest within the factory.
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In December, a neo-fascist coup, dubbed theGolpe Borghese, was planned by young far-right fanatics, main veterans ofItalian Social Republic, and supported by members of theCorpo Forestale dello Stato, along with right-aligned entrepreneurs and industrialists. The "Black Prince",Junio Valerio Borghese, took part in it. The coup, called off at the last moment, was discovered by the newspaperPaese Sera, and publicly exposed three months later.[23]
On 26 March,Alessandro Floris was assassinated in Genoa by a unit of theOctober 22 Group, a far-left terrorist organization. An amateur photographer had taken a photo of the killer that enabled police to identify the terrorists. The group was investigated, and more members were arrested. Some fled to Milan and joined theGruppi di Azione Partigiana (GAP) and, later, the Red Brigades.[49]
The Red Brigades consideredGruppo XXII Ottobre its predecessor and, in April 1974, they kidnapped JudgeMario Sossi in a failed attempt at freeing the jailed members.[50] Years later, the Red Brigades killed judge Francesco Coco on 8 June 1976, along with his two police escorts, Giovanni Saponara and Antioco Deiana, in revenge.[51]
On 17 May 1972, police officer Luigi Calabresi, a recipient of the gold medal of the Italian Republic for civil valour, was killed in Milan. Authorities initially focused on suspects inLotta Continua; then it was assumed that Calabresi had been killed by neo-fascist organizations, bringing about the arrest of two neo-fascist activists, Gianni Nardi and Bruno Stefano, along withGerman Gudrun Kiess, in 1974. They were ultimately released. Sixteen years later,Adriano Sofri,Giorgio Petrostefani,Ovidio Bompressi, andLeonardo Marino were arrested in Milan following Marino's confession to the murder. Their trial finally established their guilt in organising and carrying out the assassination.[52]Calabresi's assassination opened the chapter of assassinations carried out by armed groups of the far-left.[23]
On 31 May 1972, three ItalianCarabinieri were killed inPeteano in a bombing attributed toLotta Continua. Officers of the Carabinieri were later indicted and convicted for perverting the course of justice.[53] Judge Casson identifiedOrdine Nuovo memberVincenzo Vinciguerra as the man who had planted the Peteano bomb.
The neo-fascist terrorist Vinciguerra, arrested in the 1980s for the bombing in Peteano, declared to magistrateFelice Casson that thisfalse flag attack had been intended to force the Italian state to declare astate of emergency and to become moreauthoritarian. Vinciguerra explained that theSISMI military intelligence agency had protected him by allowing his escape toFrancoist Spain.
Casson's investigation revealed that the right-wing organization Ordine Nuovo had collaborated with the Italian Military Secret Service,SID (Servizio Informazioni Difesa). Together, they had engineered the Peteano attack and then blamed the Red Brigades. He confessed and testified that he had been covered by a network of sympathizers in Italy and abroad who had ensured that he could escape after the attack. "A whole mechanism came into action", Vinciguerra recalled, "that is, the Carabinieri, theMinister of the Interior, the customs services and the military and civilian intelligence services accepted the ideological reasoning behind the attack."[54][55]
A 16 April 1973arson attack by members ofPotere Operaio on the house of neo-fascistItalian Social Movement (MSI) militantMario Mattei inPrimavalle,Rome, resulted in his two sons, aged 22 and 8, being burned alive.[56]
During a 17 May 1973 ceremony honouring Luigi Calabresi, in which the Interior Minister was present,Gianfranco Bertoli, ananarchist, threw a bomb that killed four and injured 45.
In 1975, Bertoli was sentenced to life imprisonment: despite self-identifying as an anarchist, the Milan Court wrote that he was connected with the far-rightNew Order and was a SID informant and a confidant of the police.[3]
In the 1990s, it was suspected that Bertoli was a member ofGladio but he denied it in an interview: in the list of 622 Gladio members made public in 1990, his name is missing.[57][58]
A magistrate investigating the assassination attempt of Mariano Rumor found that Bertoli's files were incomplete.[53] GeneralGianadelio Maletti, head of the SID from 1971 to 1975, was convictedin absentia in 1990 for obstruction of justice in the Mariano Rumor case.
In May 1974, a bomb exploded during an anti-fascist demonstration inBrescia, Lombardy, killing eight and wounding 102. On 16 November 2010, the Court of Brescia acquitted the defendants:Francesco Delfino (a Carabiniere),Carlo Maria Maggi,Pino Rauti,Maurizio Tramonte, andDelfo Zorzi (members of theOrdine Nuovoneo-fascist group). The prosecutor had requested life sentences for Delfino, Maggi, Tramonte, and Zorzi, and acquittal for lack of evidence for Pino Rauti. The four defendants were acquitted again by the appeal court in 2012 but, in 2014, the supreme court ruled that the appeal trial would have to be held again at the appeal court ofMilan for Maggi and Tramonte. Delfino and Zorzi were definitely acquitted. On 22 July 2015, the appeal court sentenced Maggi and Tramonte to life imprisonment for ordering and coordinating the massacre.[59]
On 17 June 1974, two members of MSI were murdered inPadua. Initially, an internal feud between neo-fascist groups was suspected, since the crime had occurred in the city ofFranco Freda. However, the murder was then claimed by the Red Brigades: it was the first murder of the organization,[23] which, until then, had only committed robberies, bombings, and kidnappings.[3]
CountEdgardo Sogno said in his memoirs that in July 1974, he visited theCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA) station chief in Rome to inform him of preparations for a coup. Asking what the United States (US) government would do in case of such a coup, Sogno wrote that he was told, "the United States would have supported any initiative tending to keep the communists out of government". General Maletti declared, in 2001, that he had not known about Sogno's relationship with the CIA and had not been informed about the coup, known asGolpe bianco (White Coup), led byRandolfo Pacciardi.[60]
On 4 August 1974, 12 people were killed and 48 others injured inthe bombing of the Italicus Rome-Brenner express train atSan Benedetto Val di Sambro. Responsibility was claimed by theneo-fascist terrorist organizationOrdine Nero.[61][62][63][64][65]
GeneralVito Miceli, chief of theSIOS military intelligence agency in 1969, and head of theSID from 1970 to 1974, was arrested in 1974 on charges of "conspiracy against the state".[3] Following his arrest, the Italian secret services were reorganized by a 24 October 1977 law in an attempt to reassert civilian control over the intelligence agencies. The SID was divided into the currentSISMI, theSISDE, and theCESIS, which was to directly coordinate with thePrime Minister of Italy. AnItalian Parliamentary Committee on Secret services control (Copaco) was created at the same time.[66] Miceli was acquitted in 1978.[3]
In 1974, some leaders of the Red Brigades, includingRenato Curcio andAlberto Franceschini, were arrested, but new leadership continued the war against the Italian right-wing establishment with increased fervour.[23]
The Italian government showed reluctance in addressing far-left terrorism. The rulingChristian Democracy party underestimated the threat of the Red Brigades, speaking of "phantom" Red Brigades, emphasising instead the danger of neo-fascist groups. The Italian left wing was also less worried by the existence of an armed communist organization than by the possible abuses by the police against protesters, calling for the disarmament of police during street demonstrations.[23]
The year before,Potere Operaio had disbanded, althoughAutonomia Operaia carried on in its wake.Lotta Continua also dissolved in 1976, although their magazine struggled on for several years. From the remnants ofLotta Continua and similar groups, the terror organizationPrima Linea emerged.
On 28 February, student and fascist activistMikis Mantakas was killed by far-leftists during riots in Rome.[3]
On 13 March, a young militant ofItalian Social Movement (MSI)Sergio Ramelli was assaulted in Milan by a group ofAvanguardia Operaia and wounded in the head with wrenches (akaHazet 36). He died on 29 April, after 47 days in the hospital.[23]
On 25 May, student and left activistAlberto Brasili was stabbed in Milan by neo-fascist militants.[23]
On 5 June,Giovanni D'Alfonso, a member of theCarabinieri police force, was killed by the Red Brigades.[23]
On 29 April, lawyer and militant ofItalian Social Movement (MSI)Enrico Pedenovi was killed in Milan by the organizationPrima Linea. This was the first assassination conducted byPrima Linea.[67]
On 8 July, inRome, JudgeVittorio Occorsio was killed by neo-fascistPierluigi Concutelli.[3]
On 14 December, in Rome, policemanPrisco Palumbo was killed by theNuclei Armati Proletari.[23]
On 15 December, inSesto San Giovanni (a town near Milan), vice chiefVittorio Padovani and MarshalSergio Bazzega were killed by young extremistWalter Alasia.[23]
On 11 March,Francesco Lorusso was killed by the military police (theCarabinieri) at the university ofBologna.
On 12 March, aTurin policemanGiuseppe Ciotta was killed byPrima Linea.[68]
On 22 March, aRome policemanClaudio Graziosi was killed byNuclei Armati Proletari.[23]
On 28 April, in Turin, lawyerFulvio Croce was killed by the Red Brigades.[3]
On 12 May, in Rome, 19-year-old studentGiorgiana Masi was killed during clashes between police officers and demonstrators.
On 14 May, in Milan, activists from a far-left organization pulled out their pistols and began to shoot at the police, killing policemanAntonio Custra.[69] A photographer took a photo of an activist shooting at the police. This year was called the time of the "P38", referring to theWalther P38 pistol.
On 16 November, in Turin,Carlo Casalegno, deputy director of the newspaperLa Stampa, was seriously wounded in an ambush of the Red Brigades. He died thirteen days later, on November 29.[3]
On 4 January, inCassino, chief of Fiat securityCarmine De Rosa was killed by leftists.[70]
On 7 January, inRome, young militants ofItalian Social Movement (MSI)Franco Bigonzetti and Francesco Ciavatta were killed by far-leftists, another militant (Stefano Recchioni) was killed by the police during a violent demonstration.[70] Some militants left the MSI and founded theNuclei Armati Rivoluzionari, which had ties with the Roman criminal organizationBanda della Magliana.[3]
On 20 January, inFlorence, policemanFausto Dionisi was killed byPrima Linea.[70]
On 7 February, inPrato (a town near Florence), notaryGianfranco Spighi was killed by leftists.[70]
On 14 February, inRome, JudgeRiccardo Palma was killed by the Red Brigades.[70]
On 10 March, inTurin, MarshalRosario Berardi was killed by the Red Brigades.[70]
On 16 March in Milan, thekilling of Fausto and Iaio occurred. Nobody has ever been found responsible for the double murder.[71]
On 11 April, inTurin, policemanLorenzo Cutugno was killed by the Red Brigades.[23]
On 20 April, inMilan, policemanFrancesco Di Cataldo was killed by the Red Brigades.[23]
On 10 October, inRome, judgeGirolamo Tartaglione was killed by the Red Brigades.[3]
On 11 October, inNaples, university teacherAlfredo Paolella was killed byPrima Linea.[3]
On 8 November, inPatrica (a town near Frosinone), judgeFedele Calvosa was killed by theUnità Comuniste Combattenti.[3]
On 16 March 1978,Aldo Moro was kidnapped by theRed Brigades (then led byMario Moretti), and five of his security detail were killed. Aldo Moro was a left-leaningChristian Democrat who served several times as prime minister; before his murder, he had been trying to include theItalian Communist Party (PCI), headed byEnrico Berlinguer, in the government through a deal called theHistoric Compromise. PCI was, at the time, the largest communist party in Western Europe; mainly because of its non-extremist and pragmatic stance, its growing independence from Moscow and itseurocommunist doctrine. The PCI was especially strong in areas such asEmilia Romagna, where it had stable government positions and mature practical experience, which may have contributed to a more pragmatic approach to politics. The Red Brigades were fiercely opposed by the Communist Party andtrade unions: some left-wing politicians used the expression "comrades who do wrong" (Compagni che sbagliano).Franco Bonisoli [it], one of RB's members who participated in the kidnapping, declared that the decision to kidnap Moro "was taken a week before, a day was decided, it could have been 15 or 17 March".[23]
On 9 May 1978, after a summary "trial of the people", Moro was murdered by Mario Moretti with, it was also determined, the participation ofGermano Maccari [it].[72] The corpse was found that same day in the trunk of a red Renault 4 in via Michelangelo Caetani, in downtown Rome. A consequence there was the fact that the PCI did not gain executive power.
Moro's assassination was followed by a large clampdown on the social movement, including the arrest of many members ofAutonomia Operaia, includingOreste Scalzone and political philosopherAntonio Negri (arrested on 7 April 1979).
Active armed organizations grew from 2 in 1969 to 91 in 1977 and 269 in 1979. In that year there were 659 attacks.[3]
On 19 January,Turin policemanGiuseppe Lorusso was killed by thePrima Linea organization.[73]
On 24 January, worker and trade unionistGuido Rossa was killed in Genoa by the Red Brigades.[74]
On 29 January, JudgeEmilio Alesandrini was killed in Milan byPrima Linea.[75]
On 9 March, university studentEmanuele Iurilli was killed in Turin byPrima Linea.[76]
On 20 March, investigative journalistMino Pecorelli was gunned down in his car inRome. Prime MinisterGiulio Andreotti and Mafia bossGaetano Badalamenti were sentenced in 2002 to 24 years in prison for the murder, though the sentences were overturned the following year.[77]
On 3 May, inRome, policemenAntonio Mea andPiero Ollanu were killed by the Red Brigades.[74]
On 13 July, inDruento (a town near Turin), policemanBartolomeo Mana was killed byPrima Linea.[78]
On 13 July, inRome, Lieutenant Colonel of CarabinieriAntonio Varisco was killed by the Red Brigades.[74]
On 18 July, barmanCarmine Civitate was killed in Turin, byPrima Linea.[79]
On 21 September,Carlo Ghiglieno was killed in Turin by a group ofPrima Linea.[80]
On 11 December, five teachers and five students of the "Valletta" Institute in Turin were shot in the legs byPrima Linea.[3]
On 8 January,Milan policemenAntonio Cestari,Rocco Santoro, andMichele Tatulli were killed by the Red Brigades.[3]
On 25 January,Genoa policemenEmanuele Tuttobene andAntonio Casu were killed by the Red Brigades.[3]
On 29 January, petrochemical plant managerSilvio Gori was killed by the Red Brigades.[3]
On 5 February, inMonza, Paolo Paoletti was killed byPrima Linea.[81][82]
On 7 February, Prima Linea militantWilliam Vaccher was killed on suspicion of treason.[3]
On 12 February, inRome, at the "La Sapienza" University,Vittorio Bachelet, vice-president of theHigh Council of the Judiciary and former president of the Roman Catholic associationAzione Cattolica, was killed by the Red Brigades.[3]
On 10 March, inRome, cookLuigi Allegretti was killed byCompagni armati per il Comunismo.[74]
On 16 March, inSalerno, JudgeNicola Giacumbi was killed by the Red Brigades.[3]
On 18 March, inRome, JudgeGirolamo Minervini was killed by the Red Brigades.[74]
On 19 March, inMilan, JudgeGuido Galli was killed by a group ofPrima Linea.[83]
On 10 April, inTurin,Giuseppe Pisciuneri a Mondialpol guard, was killed byRonde Proletarie.[84]
On 28 May, inMilan, journalistWalter Tobagi was killed byBrigata XXVIII marzo.[74]
On 23 June, inRome, JudgeMario Amato was killed by theNuclei Armati Rivoluzionari.[74]
On 31 December, inRome, General of CarabinieriEnrico Galvaligi was killed by the Red Brigades.[74]
On 2 August, a bomb killed 85 people and wounded more than 200 inBologna. Known as theBologna massacre, the blast destroyed a large portion of the city's main railway station. This was found to be a neo-fascist bombing, mainly organized by theNuclei Armati Rivoluzionari:Francesca Mambro andValerio Fioravanti were sentenced to life imprisonment. In April 2007, the Supreme Court confirmed the conviction of Luigi Ciavardini, a NAR member associated closely with close ties toTerza Posizione. Ciavardini received a 30-year prison sentence for his role in the attack.[85]
On 5 July,Giuseppe Taliercio, director of the Porto Marghera's Montedison petrochemical establishment, was killed by the Red Brigades after 47 days of kidnapping.[3]
On 3 August,Roberto Peci, an electrician, was killed by the Red Brigades after being kidnapped and held for 54 days. The killing was a vendetta against his brotherPatrizio, a member of the RB who became apentito the year before.[3]
On 17 December,James L. Dozier, an American general and the deputy commander of NATO's South European forces based in Verona, was kidnapped by the Red Brigades. He was freed inPadua on 28 January 1982 by theNucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza (NOCS), an Italian police anti-terrorist task force.[86]
On 26 August, a group of Red Brigades terrorists attacked a military troop convoy inSalerno. In the attack, Corporal Antonio Palumbo[87] and policemenAntonio Bandiera[88] andMario De Marco[89] were killed. The terrorists escaped.
On 21 October, a group of Red Brigades terrorists attacked a bank inTurin, killing two guards,Antonio Pedio[90] andSebastiano d'Alleo.[91]
On 15 February,Leamon Hunt, American diplomat and Director General of the international peacekeeping force,Multinational Force and Observers (MFO), was killed by the Red Brigades.[3]
On 23 December, a bomb on a train between Florence and Rome killed 16 and wounded more than 200. In 1992, Mafia soldiersGiuseppe Calò andGuido Cercola were sentenced to life imprisonment,Franco Di Agostino (another member of theSicilian Mafia) got 24 years, and German engineerFriedrich Schaudinn 22 for the bombing.Camorra's member Giuseppe Misso was sentenced to 3 years; other members of Camorra,Alfonso Galeota andGiulio Pirozzi were sentenced to 18 months, and their role in the massacre was deemed marginal.[92] On 18 February 1994, the Florence court absolvedMSI member of ParliamentMassimo Abbatangelo from the massacre charge, but ruled him guilty of giving the explosive to Misso in the spring of 1984. Abbatangelo was sentenced to 6 years. Victims' relatives asked for a tougher sentence, but lost the appeal and had to pay for judicial expenses.[93]
On 9 January, inTorvaianica (a town near Rome), policemanOttavio Conte was killed by the Red Brigades.[74]
On 27 March, inRome, economistEzio Tarantelli was killed by the Red Brigades.[74]
On 10 February 1986,Lando Conti, former mayor of Florence, was killed by the Red Brigades.[3]
On 20 March 1987,Licio Giorgieri, a general in theItalian Air Force, was assassinated by the Red Brigades in Rome.[3]
On 16 April 1988, Senator Roberto Ruffilli was assassinated in an attack by a group of the Red Brigades inForlì. It was the last murder committed by the Red Brigades: on 23 October a group ofirriducibili (hardliners) declared, in a document, that war against the State was over.[3]
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a resurgence of Red Brigades terrorism led to further assassinations.
On 20 May 1999,Massimo D'Antona, a consultant to the Ministry of Labour, was assassinated in an attack by a group of terrorists of the Red Brigades in Rome.
On 19 March 2002,Marco Biagi, an academic and consultant to the Ministry of Labour, was assassinated in an attack by a group of terrorists of the Red Brigades in Bologna.
On 2 March 2003,Emanuele Petri, a policeman, was assassinated by a group of Red Brigades terrorists nearCastiglion Fiorentino.
In 2021, France arrested seven of the dozens of fugitive leftist militants who had been given French protection for decades. Among the arrested wereGiorgio Pietrostefani, a founding member of theLotta Continua group who was convicted of the murder of Milan police commissionerLuigi Calabresi. Others were Marina Petrella, Roberta Cappelli and Sergio Tornaghi, who had received life sentences for murders and kidnappings.[94]
TheMitterrand doctrine, which was established in 1985 by thensocialist French presidentFrançois Mitterrand, stated that Italian far-left terrorists who fled to France and who were convicted of violent acts in Italy, excluding "active, actual, bloody terrorism" during the "Years of Lead", would receive asylum and would not be subject toextradition to Italy. They would be integrated into French society.
The act was announced on 21 April 1985, at the 65th Congress of theHuman Rights League (Ligue des droits de l'homme, LDH), stating of Italian criminals who had given up their violent pasts and had fled to France would be protected from extradition to Italy:
Italian refugees ... who took part in terrorist action before 1981 ... have broken links with the infernal machine in which they participated, have begun a second phase of their lives, have integrated into French society ... I told the Italian government that they were safe from any sanction by the means of extradition.[95]
According to Reuters, the Italian guerillas numbered in the dozens. The French decision had a long term negative effect on French-Italian relations.[94]
Upon the arrest in France of seven Italian far-left militants, French Minister of JusticeEric Dupond-Moretti said he was "proud to participate to this decision that I hope will allow Italy to turn after 40 years a bloody and tearful page of its history."[96]
Some Italian citizens accused of terrorist acts have found refuge inBrazil such asCesare Battisti and other former members of theArmed Proletarians for Communism, a far-left militant and terrorist organization.
Some Italian far-left activists found political asylum inNicaragua, includingAlessio Casimirri, who took part in thekidnapping of Aldo Moro.
Some of the far-right activists, includingStefano Delle Chiaie andJunio Valerio Borghese, found refuge in Francoist Spain.[97] Here a network of activists was established that facilitated the arrival of other far-right figures while simultaneously establishing clandestine businesses.[98]
The Years of Lead were believed to have increased the rate of immigration to the United States from Italy. However, as the Years of Lead came to an end in the 1980s and political stability increased in Italy, the rate of immigration to the United States decreased. In the years 1992–2002, Italian immigration ranged nearly 2,500 people annually.[99]
On 12 December 1969, a bomb exploded in the Banca Nazionale dell'Agricultura at the Piazza Fontana in Milan. [...] The bombing is [...] commonly regarded as the beginning of the Italiananni di piombo (years of lead) which lasted for almost twenty years.
Rimase ucciso, al volante dellu su jeep, un poliziotto ventiduenne, Antonio Annarumma [...].
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