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Rinaldo Rigola

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Rinaldo Rigola
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
16 June 1900 – 8 February 1909
Secretary General of the General Confederation of Labour
In office
1906–1918
Personal details
Born2 February 1868
Biella, Kingdom of Italy
Died10 January 1954(1954-01-10) (aged 85)
Milan, Italy
Political party
  • POI (1886–1893)
  • PSI (1893–1922)
  • PSU (1922–1925)
OccupationMetal worker

Rinaldo Rigola (2 February 1868 – 10 January 1954) was an Italian socialist politician who served as the founding secretary general of the General Confederation of Labour (CGdL) in 1906.

Early life, career and activities

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Rigola was born in Biella on 2 February 1868.[1] He was a metal worker.[2] He became a member of the Italian Workers' Party (POI) in 1886.[1] He left the POI and joined the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) in 1893.[2] In the PSI, Rigola was part of its reformist faction.[2] He served as the municipal councilor in Biella in 1895 and as the director of the newspaper Corriere Biellese in 1896.[1] That same year, he was forced to exile and settled in Switzerland where he stayed until 1900.[1]

Shortly after his return to Italy, Rigola was elected a deputy, being the first Italian worker at the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy.[1][3] He wrote about trade union topics in the newspaper Avanti and then directed a magazine entitled Vita workeria.[1] In 1903, Rigola lost his sight completely as a result of an accident during his youth.[1]

In 1906, Rigola became founding secretary general of the CGdL.[1] He resigned from the post in 1918.[1] In 1922, he cofounded the Unitary Socialist Party (PSU).[1][2] Rigola launched a magazine entitled Il Lavoro in Biella in 1924.[1] He also headed a cultural organization, the National Association for the Questions of Labour, which was associated with the magazine.[4]

Later years and death

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Rigola retired from public life in 1940. He died in Milan on 10 January 1954.[1]

Views and legacy

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Rigola was a supporter of the guild socialism developed by G. D. H. Cole.[4] He did not openly approve fascist corporatism.[4] In 2012, a biography of Rigola was published, Rinaldo Rigola. Una biografia politica, by Paolo Mattera.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Rinaldo Rigola (Biella 1868 – Milano 1954)" (in Italian). Museo Torino. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d John Riddell, ed. (2015). To the Masses. Proceedings of the Third Congress of the Communist International, 1921. Vol. 91. Leiden; Boston: Brill. p. 1230. doi:10.1163/9789004288034_038. ISBN 9789004288034.
  3. ^ "Rigola, Rinaldo" (in Italian). Centro Rete Biellese. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Laura Cerasi (January–April 2019). "From corporatism to the 'foundation of labour': notes on political cultures across Fascist and Republican Italy". Tempo. 25 (1): 239–255. doi:10.1590/TEM-1980-542X2018v250113. hdl:10278/3707324. S2CID 150951480.
  5. ^ Paolo Mattera (2012). "La biografia politica di Rinaldo Rigola" (in Italian). Futura Editrice. Retrieved 31 July 2022.

Further reading

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