View source for Years of Lead (Italy)

{{Short description|Period of social and political turmoil in Italy}}{{Other uses|Years of Lead (disambiguation){{!}}Years of Lead}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| title             = Years of Lead
| subtitle          = {{langx|it|Anni di piombo}}
| partof            = the [[Cold War]]
| image             = Stragedibologna-2.jpg
| image_size        = 300px
| caption           = A [[Bologna massacre|bomb]] at [[Bologna Centrale railway station|Bologna railway station]] planted by the [[neo-fascist]] terrorist group known as the [[Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari]] in August 1980 killed 85 people; it was the deadliest attack during the Years of Lead.
| date              = 1 March 1968 – 23 October 1988<ref>{{cite web | url=https://blogs.bl.uk/european/2018/03/the-battle-of-valle-giulia-50-years-after-1-march-1968.html | title=The Battle of Valle Giulia 50 Years After – 1 March 1968 }}</ref><ref name="Zavoli"/>
| place             = [[Italy]] (mainly [[Northern Italy]])
| result            = Government victory
*Most militant and terrorist groups disbanded
| combatant1        = {{nowrap| {{flagicon|Italy}} '''[[Government of Italy|Italian Government]]'''}}
{{blist
|[[SISMI]]
|[[SISDE]]
|[[Italian Armed Forces|Armed Forces]]
|[[Carabinieri]]
|[[Polizia di Stato|State Police]]
}}
'''Supported by:'''
{{ublist
|{{flagdeco|NATO|size=23px}} [[Operation Gladio#Italy|Gladio]]
|{{Flagicon image|Flag of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.svg|size=23px}} [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]<ref name="Willan">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/mar/26/terrorism|title=Terrorists 'helped by CIA' to stop rise of left in Italy|first=Philip|last=Willan|date=March 26, 2001|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>
}}
| combatant2        = {{nowrap|'''[[Left-wing terrorism|Far-left terrorists]]''':}}
{{ublist
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Brigate Rosse.svg}} [[Red Brigades]] (1970–1988)<ref group=N>Disbanded by police.</ref>
|{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} [[Prima Linea|Front Line]] (1976–1981)<ref group=N>Disbanded by members due to increasing police pressure. Most already joined the Red Brigades; others focused on politics.</ref>
|{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} [[October 22 Group]] (1969–1971)<ref group=N>Dismantled by police. Members merged into the Red Brigades and Partisan Action Groups.</ref>
|{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} [[Armed Proletarians for Communism|PAC]] (1976–1979)<ref group=N>Dismantled by police.</ref>
|{{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} [[Lotta Continua|Continuous Struggle]] (1969–1976)<ref group=N>Disbanded due to internal feuds. Some members merged into the Red Brigades whilst others formed [[Prima Linea]].</ref>
|{{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} [[Potere Operaio|Workers' Power]] (1967–1973)<ref group=N>Disbanded due to internal disagreements. Some members merged into the group Autonomous Worker.</ref>
|{{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} [[Autonomia Operaia|Workers' Autonomy]] (1973–1979)<ref group=N>Dissolved due to police pressure and members merging into the PAC, Red Brigades, and Prima Linea. Those imprisoned often associated with [[Nuclei Armati Proletari|NAP]].</ref>
}}
'''Supported by:'''
{{ublist
|[[File:RAF-Logo.svg|23px|border=no]] [[Red Army Faction|RAF]]<ref>[http://www.contre-informations.fr/doc-inter/allemagne/allemagne11.html Document unitaire RAF – BR – PCC (1987)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130322034432/http://www.contre-informations.fr/doc-inter/allemagne/allemagne11.html |date=March 22, 2013 |data=22 marzo 2013 }}</ref>
|{{Flagdeco|People's Socialist Republic of Albania}} [[Sigurimi]] (alleged)
|{{flagicon|Palestine Liberation Organization}} [[Palestine Liberation Organization|PLO]] (alleged)
|{{Flagdeco|Soviet Union}} [[KGB]] (alleged)<ref>{{cite book|first=Andrew|last=Christopher|first2=Vasili|last2=Mitrokhin|year=2000|title=The Sword and the Shield: the Mitrokhin archive and the secret history of the KGB|publisher=Basic Books}}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2024}}
|{{flagicon|East Germany}} [[Stasi]] (alleged)
|{{flagicon image|Flag of Libya (1977–2011).svg}} [[Mukhabarat el-Jamahiriya]] (alleged)<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/23/libya-gaddafi-vicious-despot |title = Gaddafi: A vicious, sinister despot driven out on tidal wave of hatred| newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date = 23 August 2011}}</ref>
|{{flagdeco|Yugoslavia}} [[UDBA]] (alleged)
}}
| combatant3        = {{nowrap|'''[[Armed, far-right organizations in Italy|Far-right terrorists]]''':}}
{{ublist
|{{flagicon image|Flag of Ordine Nuovo.svg}} [[Ordine Nuovo|New Order]] (1957–1973)<ref group=N>Banned, some joined Ordine Nero.</ref>
|{{flagicon image|Flag of National Vanguard.svg}} [[National Vanguard (Italy)|National Vanguard]] (1960–1976)<ref group=N>Banned. Its members joined Ordine Nero.</ref>
|[[Ordine Nero|Black Order]] (1974–1978)<ref>It was dismantled and became inactive.</ref>
|{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Nuclei_Armati_Rivoluzionari.svg}} [[Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari|NAR]] (1977–1981)<ref group=N>Dismantled.</ref>
|{{flagicon image|}} [[Terza Posizione|Third Position]] (1978–1982)<ref group=N>Dissolved by police. Used by NAR as a cover name later on.</ref>
}}
''' Supported by: '''
{{ublist
|[[File:Masonic SquareCompassesG.svg|18px|border=no]] [[Propaganda Due]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italian-minister-falls-victim-to-corruption-1472280.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italian-minister-falls-victim-to-corruption-1472280.html |archive-date=2022-05-07 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Italian minister falls victim to corruption|date=February 11, 1993|newspaper=The Independent}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>Willan, Puppetmasters, p. 161</ref>
|{{flagicon image|Civil Ensign of Italy.svg}} [[SISMI]] (factions)<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.cambridgeclarion.org/press_cuttings/vinciguerra.p2.etc_graun_5dec1990.html |first=Ed |last=Vulliamy |title= Secret agents, freemasons, fascists ... and a top-level campaign of political 'destabilisation' |newspaper=The Guardian |date=1990-12-05 |access-date=2021-06-10}}</ref>
|[[Banda della Magliana|Magliana Gang]]<ref name="ariannaeditrice.it">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ariannaeditrice.it/articolo.php?id_articolo=19622|title=NAR: lo spontaneismo armato neofascista|website=Ariannaeditrice.it}}</ref>
|{{Flagicon image|Flag of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.svg|size=23px}} [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/mar/26/terrorism|title = Terrorists 'helped by CIA' to stop rise of left in Italy| newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date = 26 March 2001}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.repubblica.it/online/fatti/fontana/fontana/fontana.html|title = Strage di Piazza Fontana spunta un agente Usa|date = 11 February 1998}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/documents/collection_gladio/report_ital_senate.pdf |title = Il Terrorismo, le stragi ed il contesto storico-politico |date = 2006-08-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819211212/http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/documents/collection_gladio/report_ital_senate.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|[[Cosa Nostra]] (alleged)
}}
| commander1        = {{ublist
|{{flagdeco|Italy}} [[Giulio Andreotti]]
|{{flagdeco|Italy}} [[Aldo Moro]]{{KIA|Kidnapping of Aldo Moro}}
|{{nowrap|{{flagdeco|Italy}} [[Francesco Cossiga]]}}
|{{flagdeco|Italy}} [[Mariano Rumor]]
|{{flagdeco|Italy}} [[Franco Restivo]]
|{{flagdeco|Italy}} [[Emilio Colombo]]
|{{flagdeco|Italy}} [[Virginio Rognoni]]
|{{flagdeco|Italy}} [[Arnaldo Forlani]]
}}
| commander2        = {{ublist
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Brigate Rosse.svg}} [[Renato Curcio]]{{POW}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Brigate Rosse.svg}} [[Margherita Cagol]]{{KIA}}
|{{nowrap|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Brigate Rosse.svg}} [[Alberto Franceschini]]}}{{POW}}
|{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} [[Marco Donat-Cattin|Marco Cattin]]{{POW}}
|{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} [[:it:Mario Rossi (terrorista)|Mario Rossi]]{{POW}}
|{{nowrap|{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} [[Giangiacomo Feltrinelli]]}}{{KIA}}
|{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} [[Cesare Battisti (born 1954)|Cesare Battisti]]{{POW}}
|{{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} [[Giuseppe Pinelli]]{{executed}}
|{{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} [[Adriano Sofri]]{{POW}}
|{{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} [[Francesco Lorusso]]{{KIA}}
|{{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} [[Franco Piperno]]{{efn|name=Fled|Fled Italy}}
|{{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} [[Antonio Negri]]{{POW}}
|{{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} [[Oreste Scalzone]]{{efn|name=Fled}}
|{{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} [[Lanfranco Pace]]{{efn|name=Fled}}
|{{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} [[:it:Emilio Vesce|Emilio Vesce]]{{efn|name=Acq|Acquitted}}
}}
| commander3        = {{ublist
|{{flagicon image|Flag of Ordine Nuovo.svg}} [[Franco Freda]]{{efn|name=Acq}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of Ordine Nuovo.svg}} [[Pierluigi Concutelli]]{{POW}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of Ordine Nuovo.svg}} [[:it:Mario Tuti|Mario Tuti]]{{POW}}
|{{nowrap|{{flagicon image|Flag of National Vanguard.svg}} [[Stefano Delle Chiaie]]}}{{efn|name=Acq}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag of National Vanguard.svg}} [[Adriano Tilgher (politician)|Adriano Tilgher]]{{efn|name=Acq}}
|{{nowrap|{{flagicon image|Flag of National Vanguard.svg}} [[Vincenzo Vinciguerra]]}}{{POW}}
|[[:it:Fabrizio Zani|Fabrizio Zani]]{{POW}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Nuclei_Armati_Rivoluzionari.svg}}  [[Valerio Fioravanti]]{{POW}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Nuclei_Armati_Rivoluzionari.svg}}  [[Alessandro Alibrandi]]{{KIA}} 
|{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Nuclei_Armati_Rivoluzionari.svg}}  [[Massimo Carminati]]{{POW}}
|{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Nuclei_Armati_Rivoluzionari.svg}} [[Franco Anselmi (terrorist)|Franco Anselmi]]{{KIA}} 
|{{flagicon image|}} [[Roberto Fiore]]{{efn|name=Fled}}
|{{flagicon image|}} [[Gabriele Adinolfi]]{{efn|name=Fled}}
|[[File:Masonic SquareCompassesG.svg|18px|border=no]] [[Licio Gelli]]{{POW}}
}}
| units1            = {{flagdeco|Italy}} Armed Forces: +90,000 soldiers<ref>F. Stefani, ''The history of the doctrine and the regulations of the Italian Army'', Historical Office of the Army General Staff</ref><ref>A. Viotti, S. Ales, ''Structure, uniforms and badges of the Italian Army 1946–1970'', Historical Office of the General Staff of the Army</ref> (1973)<br />{{flagicon|NATO}} Gladio: 622 members
| units2            = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Brigate Rosse.svg}} BR: Several thousand active members<br />{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} PL: 1,072 members and collaborators<br />{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} O22: 25 members<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/230|title=October 22 Circle &#124; Mapping Militant Organizations|website=web.stanford.edu}}</ref><br />{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} PAC: 60 militants<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://baruda.net/2009/02/03/le-torture-contro-i-pac-italia-febbraio-1979/|title=Le torture contro i P.A.C. : Italia, febbraio 1979|date=February 3, 2009}}</ref><br />{{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} AO: 200 members<ref name="autogenerated77">Gun Cuninghame, Patrick. "Autonomia In The Seventies: The Refusal Of Work, The Party And Politics", ''Cultural Studies Review''. [University Of Melbourne, Australia]. Vol. 11, No. 2 (Special Issue on Contemporary Italian Political Theory), September 2005, pp. 77–94. 3. Ibid. 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid.</ref>
| units3            = {{flagicon image|Flag of Ordine Nuovo.svg}} Ordine Nuovo: 10,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/mappingmilitants/profiles/new-order|title=New Order &#124; Mapping Militant Organizations|website=stanford.edu}}</ref><br />{{flagicon image|Flag of National Vanguard.svg}} National Vanguard: 600–2,000 members at varying times<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/228|title=National Vanguard &#124; Mapping Militant Organizations|website=web.stanford.edu}}</ref><br />{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Nuclei_Armati_Rivoluzionari.svg}} NAR: 53 members<br />{{flagicon image|}} Terza Posizione: 42<ref>Adinolfi, Gabriele; Fiore, Roberto (2000). Noi Terza posizione (in Italian). Settimo Sigillo.</ref>
| casualties1       = {{flag|Italy}}: 14<ref name="Sergio Zavoli 1992">Sergio Zavoli, The Night of the Republic, Rome, New Eri, 1992.</ref> civil servants murdered<br />
Armed Forces:
*1 [[Licio Giorgieri|Air Force General]] murdered
*1 soldier killed
*2 wounded<ref name="dentrosalerno.it">{{Cite web|url=http://www.dentrosalerno.it/web/2011/08/19/salerno-non-dimentica-l%E2%80%99attentato-delle-brigate-rosse/|title=Salerno non dimentica l'attentato delle Brigate Rosse &#124; Dentro Salerno &#124; L'informazione di Salerno e provincia è on line|website=www.dentrosalerno.it|access-date=2018-02-16|archive-date=2021-05-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526135552/http://www.dentrosalerno.it/web/2011/08/19/salerno-non-dimentica-l%E2%80%99attentato-delle-brigate-rosse/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Carabinieri:
*15 killed<ref name="Sergio Zavoli 1992"/>
*3 injured<ref>The Peteano massacre: "Great example of dedication to duty", on ilgazzettino.it .</ref>
State Police:
*32 killed
*1 wounded<ref name="dentrosalerno.it"/><ref>Indro Montanelli and Mario Cervi, Italy of the years of mud, Milan, Rizzoli, 1993.</ref><ref>Armando Spataro, (in French) "La culpabilité de Battisti repose sur des preuves" Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. in L'Express, 15/3/2004</ref>
[[Polizia Penitenziaria|Penitentiary Police]]:
*4 killed
{{flag|Italy}}: 67 killed in total

{{flag|United States|1960|name=U.S.}}:
*[[James L. Dozier#Kidnapping|1 Army officer]] kidnapped
*[[Leamon Hunt|1 diplomat]] murdered
{{flagcountry|United States}}: 1 killed in total
| casualties2       = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Brigate Rosse.svg}} BR:
*12,000 far-left militants arrested 
*600 fled the country
*at least 2 killed
* 1 injured<ref name="dentrosalerno.it"/>
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} PL:
*at least 5 killed
*1 arrested
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} O22: 8 arrested<ref>[[:it:Gruppo XXII Ottobre#Dissoluzione del gruppo]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=March 2018}}<br />{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} PAC:
*1 injured in friendly fire incident
*60 arrested
*several tortured
{{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} CS: 
*(at least) [[Francesco Lorusso|1 killed]] 
*5 arrested
{{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} AO: 
*3 killed<ref group=N>By a prematurely detonated explosive they were planting.</ref>
*200 exiled<ref name="autogenerated77"/>
| casualties3       = {{flagicon image|Flag of Ordine Nuovo.svg}} Ordine Nuovo: At least 3 arrested<br />{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Nuclei_Armati_Rivoluzionari.svg}}  NAR: 53 arrested<ref name="ariannaeditrice.it"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.corriere.it/cronache/09_agosto_03/fioravanti_terrorismo_nar_2caac0be-8049-11de-bb07-00144f02aabc.shtml|title=Fioravanti e lo spontaneismo armato dei Nar – Corriere della Sera|website=www.corriere.it}}</ref><br />{{flagicon image|}} Terza Posizione: 42 indicted
| notes             = '''Total deaths (including civilians)''': 428, c. 2,000 physical and psychological injuries<ref name="lettera43.it">{{Cite web |url=https://www.lettera43.it/it/articoli/cronaca/2014/03/16/anni-di-piombo-le-vittime-dimenticate-dallo-stato/112316/ |title=Anni di piombo, le vittime dimenticate dallo Stato |date=March 16, 2014 |language=Italian |website=Lettera43}}</ref>
| conflict          = Years of Lead
}}
{{Campaignbox Years of Lead (Italy)}}
{{History of Italy}}

In [[Italy]], the phrase '''Years of Lead''' ({{langx|it|Anni di piombo}}) refers to a period of [[political violence]] and social upheaval that lasted from the late 1960s until the late 1980s, marked by a wave of both [[far-left]] and [[far-right]] incidents of political [[terrorism]] and violent clashes.

The Years of Lead are sometimes considered to have begun with the [[1968 movement in Italy]] and the [[Hot Autumn]] [[strike action |strikes]] starting in 1969;<ref>
Compare:
{{cite book
 |last1                = Hof
 |first1               = Tobias
 |editor-last1         = Hanhimäki
 |editor-first1        = Jussi M.
 |editor-link1         = Jussi Hanhimäki
 |editor-last2         = Blumenau
 |editor-first2        = Bernhard
 |date                 =  2013
 |chapter              = The success of Italian anti-terrorism policy
 |title                = An International History of Terrorism: Western and Non-Western Experiences
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=38-kdOHiQg8C
 |series               = Political Violence
 |location             = London
 |publisher            = Routledge
 |page                 = 100
 |isbn                 = 978-1136202797
 |access-date          = 1 May 2023
 |quote                = 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 Italian ''anni di piombo'' (years of lead) which lasted for almost twenty years.
}} 
</ref>
the death of the policeman [[Antonio Annarumma]] in November 1969;<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Montanelli
 |first1               = Indro
 |author-link1         = Indro Montanelli
 |last2                = Cervi
 |first2               = Mario
 |author-link2         = Mario Cervi
 |date                 = 28 June 2013
 |orig-date            = 1991
 |title                = L'Italia degli anni di piombo – 1965–1978
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=QA4XcAs3_rQC
 |series               = Storia d'Italia
 |language             = it
 |publisher            = Bur
 |isbn                 = 978-8858642955
 |access-date          = 1 May 2023
 |quote                = Rimase ucciso, al volante dellu su jeep, un poliziotto ventiduenne, Antonio Annarumma [...].
}} 
</ref>
the [[Piazza Fontana bombing]] in December of that year, which killed 17 and was perpetrated by [[right-wing terrorists]] in [[Milan]]; and the death shortly after of [[anarchist]] worker [[Giuseppe Pinelli]] while in police custody under suspicion of being responsible for the attack, which he was ultimately deemed as not having committed.<ref name=MontanelliCervi>{{cite book |first=Indro |last=Montanelli |author2= Mario Cervi|title= L'Italia degli anni di piombo |place= Milan, Lombardy, Italy |publisher= Rizzoli Editore | year= 1991}}</ref>

A far-left group, the [[Red Brigades]], eventually became notorious as a terrorist organization during the period; in 1978, they [[Kidnapping of Aldo Moro| kidnapped and assassinated]] former Italian prime minister [[Aldo Moro]]. Another major crime associated with the Italian Years of Lead was the [[Bologna massacre |1980 bombing of the Bologna railway station]], which killed 85 people and for which several members of the far-right, [[neo-fascist]] terrorist group known as the [[Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari]] were convicted. Far-right terrorist organizations were also involved in various other bombings that resulted in the killings of multiple civilians, including the [[Piazza della Loggia bombing]] in 1974 which killed eight people and wounded 102 others. The terrorist organizations gradually disbanded, and police arrested their members throughout the 1980s. Sporadic political violence continued in Italy until the late 1980s, resurfacing to a lesser extent in the late 1990s and continuing until the mid-2000s.

==Origin of the name==
The term's origin possibly came as a reference to the number of shootings during the period,<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3372239.stm | work=[[BBC News]] | first=Kathryn | last=Westcott | title=Italy's history of terror | date=January 6, 2004}}</ref> or a popular 1981 German film ''[[Marianne and Juliane]]'', released in Italy as ''Anni di piombo'', which centred on the lives of two members of the West German militant far-left group [[Red Army Faction]] which had gained notoriety during the same period.

== Background ==
{{see also|1968 movement in Italy|Hot autumn}}
There was widespread social conflict and unprecedented acts of [[terrorism in Italy|terrorism]] carried out by both right- and left-wing groups. An attempt to endorse the [[neo-fascist]] [[Italian Social Movement]] (MSI) by the [[Tambroni Cabinet]] led to rioting and was short-lived.<ref>{{cite book |first=Indro |last=Montanelli |author2=Mario Cervi|title=L'Italia dei due Giovanni|place=Milan|publisher=Rizzoli Editore | year=1989}}{{ISBN?}}</ref> Widespread [[labour unrest]] and the collaboration of [[Counterculture of the 1960s|countercultural]] [[Student activism|student activist]] groups with [[working class]] factory workers and pro-labour radical leftist organizations such as [[Potere Operaio]] and [[Lotta Continua]] culminated in the so-called "[[Hot Autumn]]" of 1969, a massive series of [[strike action|strikes]] in factories and industrial centres in [[Northern Italy]].<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/> [[Student strike]]s and labour strikes, often led by workers, leftists, left-sympathizing labourers, or Marxist activists, became increasingly common, often deteriorating into clashes between the police and demonstrators composed largely of workers, students, activists, and often left-wing militants.<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

The [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|Christian Democrats]] (DC) were instrumental in the [[Italian Socialist Party]] (PSI) gaining power in the 1960s and they created a coalition. [[Kidnapping of Aldo Moro|The assassination]] of the Christian Democrat leader [[Aldo Moro]] in 1978 ended the strategy of ''[[historic compromise]]'' between the DC and the [[Italian Communist Party]] (PCI). The assassination was carried out by the [[Red Brigades]], then led by [[Mario Moretti]]. Between 1968 and 1988,<ref name="lettera43.it"/> 428 murders were attributed to political violence in the form of bombings, [[assassination]]s, and [[Urban warfare|street warfare]] between rival militant factions.

== Participating organizations ==
===Far-left terrorists===
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Brigate Rosse.svg}} [[Red Brigades]] (1970–1988)<ref group=N>Disbanded by police.</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} [[Prima Linea|Front Line]] (1976–1981)<ref group=N>Disbanded by members due to increasing police pressure. Most already joined the Red Brigades; others focused on politics.</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} [[October 22 Group]] (1969–1971)<ref group=N>Dismantled by police. Members merged into the Red Brigades and Partisan Action Groups.</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} [[Armed Proletarians for Communism|PAC]] (1976–1979)<ref group=N>Dismantled by police.</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} [[Lotta Continua|Continuous Struggle]] (1969–1976)<ref group=N>Disbanded due to internal feuds. Some members merged into the Red Brigades whilst others formed [[Prima Linea]].</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} [[Potere Operaio|Workers' Power]] (1967–1973)<ref group=N>Disbanded due to internal disagreements. Some members merged into the group Autonomous Worker.</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Anarchist flag.svg}} [[Autonomia Operaia|Workers' Autonomy]] (1973–1979)<ref group=N>Dissolved due to police pressure and members merging into the PAC, Red Brigades, and Prima Linea. Those imprisoned often associated with [[Nuclei Armati Proletari|NAP]].</ref>

* '''Supported by:'''
** [[File:RAF-Logo.svg|23px|border=no]] [[Red Army Faction|RAF]]<ref>[http://www.contre-informations.fr/doc-inter/allemagne/allemagne11.html Document unitaire RAF – BR – PCC (1987)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130322034432/http://www.contre-informations.fr/doc-inter/allemagne/allemagne11.html |date=March 22, 2013 |data=22 marzo 2013 }}</ref>
** {{Flagdeco|People's Socialist Republic of Albania}} [[Sigurimi]] (alleged)
** {{flagicon|Palestine Liberation Organization}} [[Palestine Liberation Organization|PLO]] (alleged)
** {{Flagdeco|Soviet Union}} [[KGB]] (alleged)<ref>Andrew, Christopher; Vasili Mitrokhin (2000). ''The Sword and the Shield: the Mitrokhin archive and the secret history of the KGB''. Basic Books.</ref>
** {{flagicon|East Germany}} [[Stasi]] (alleged)
** {{flagicon image|Flag of Libya (1977–2011).svg}} [[Mukhabarat el-Jamahiriya]] (alleged)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/23/libya-gaddafi-vicious-despot |title = Gaddafi: A vicious, sinister despot driven out on tidal wave of hatred| website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date = 23 August 2011}}</ref>
** {{flagdeco|Yugoslavia}} [[UDBA]] (alleged)

===Far-right terrorists===
* {{flagicon image|Flag of Ordine Nuovo.svg}} [[Ordine Nuovo|New Order]] (1957–1973)<ref group=N>Banned, some joined Ordine Nero.</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of National Vanguard.svg}} [[National Vanguard (Italy)|National Vanguard]] (1960–1976)<ref group=N>Banned. Its members joined Ordine Nero.</ref>
* {{flagicon image|}} [[Ordine Nero|Black Order]] (1974–1978)<ref>It was dismantled and became inactive.</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flag_of_Nuclei_Armati_Rivoluzionari.svg}} [[Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari|NAR]] (1977–1981)<ref group=N>Dismantled.</ref>
* {{flagicon image|}} [[Terza Posizione|Third Position]] (1978–1982)<ref group=N>Dissolved by police. Used by NAR as a cover name later on.</ref>

* ''' Supported by: '''
** [[File:Masonic SquareCompassesG.svg|18px|border=no]] [[Propaganda Due]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italian-minister-falls-victim-to-corruption-1472280.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italian-minister-falls-victim-to-corruption-1472280.html |archive-date=2022-05-07 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Italian minister falls victim to corruption|date=February 11, 1993|website=The Independent}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>Willan, Puppetmasters, p. 161</ref>
** {{flagicon image|Civil Ensign of Italy.svg}} [[SISMI]] (factions)<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.cambridgeclarion.org/press_cuttings/vinciguerra.p2.etc_graun_5dec1990.html |first=Ed |last=Vulliamy |title= Secret agents, freemasons, fascists ... and a top-level campaign of political 'destabilisation' |work=The Guardian |date=1990-12-05 |access-date=2021-06-10}}</ref>
** {{flagicon image|Flag of Rome.svg}} [[Banda della Magliana|Magliana Gang]]<ref name="ariannaeditrice.it">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ariannaeditrice.it/articolo.php?id_articolo=19622|title=NAR: lo spontaneismo armato neofascista|website=Ariannaeditrice.it}}</ref>
** {{Flagicon image|Flag of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.svg|size=23px}} [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] (alleged)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/mar/26/terrorism|title = Terrorists 'helped by CIA' to stop rise of left in Italy| website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date = 26 March 2001}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.repubblica.it/online/fatti/fontana/fontana/fontana.html|title = Strage di Piazza Fontana spunta un agente Usa|date = 11 February 1998}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/documents/collection_gladio/report_ital_senate.pdf |title = Il Terrorismo, le stragi ed il contesto storico-politico |date = 2006-08-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819211212/http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/documents/collection_gladio/report_ital_senate.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
** {{flagicon image|Flag of Sicily.svg}} [[Cosa Nostra]] (alleged)

== Timeline of events ==

=== 1969 ===

==== Public protests ====
{{Main|Hot Autumn}}
Public protests shook Italy during 1969, with the workers' rights movement and [[autonomist]] student movement being particularly active, leading to the [[factory occupation|occupation]] of the [[Fiat Mirafiori]] automobile factory in [[Turin]].

==== Killing of Antonio Annarumma ====
On 19 November 1969, [[Antonio Annarumma]], a Milanese policeman, was killed during a riot by far-left demonstrators.<ref>http://www.cadutipolizia.it/fonti/1943{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} 1981/1969annarumma.htm</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cadutipolizia.it/articoli2007/conseguenza.htm |title=Nessuna Conseguenza – La Morte di Antonio Annarumma |publisher=Cadutipolizia.it |access-date=2010-05-05}}</ref> He was the first civil servant to die in the wave of violence.

==== Piazza Fontana bombing ====
{{Main|Piazza Fontana bombing}}
[[File:Funerals Of The Victims Of The Piazza Fontana Bombing.jpg|thumb|right|A passage of the funerals of the victims of the [[Piazza Fontana bombing]]. The funeral march goes through [[Milan Cathedral]] Square. Milan, 12 December 1969]]

The [[Victor Emmanuel II Monument]], the [[Banca Nazionale del Lavoro]] in Rome and the [[Banca Commerciale Italiana]] and the [[Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura]] in Milan were bombed in December.

Local police arrested 80 or so suspects from left-wing groups, including [[Giuseppe Pinelli]], an anarchist initially blamed for the bombing, and [[Pietro Valpreda]]. Their guilt was denied by left-wing members, especially by members of the [[Student activism|student 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 newspaper ''Lotta Continua'' started a campaign accusing police officer [[Luigi Calabresi]] of Pinelli's murder.<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/><ref name=Zavoli>{{Cite book |first=Sergio |last=Zavoli |title=La notte della repubblica |place=Rome |publisher=Nuova Eri |year=1992}}</ref> In 1975, Calabresi and other police officials were acquitted by judge [[Gerardo D'Ambrosio]] who decided that Pinelli's fall from a window had been caused by his being taken ill and losing his balance.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZDexzkoW1twC&dq=piazza+fontana+bombing&pg=PR10 Bull, Anna Cento and Cooke, Philip. ''Ending Terrorism in Italy'', Routledge, 2013] {{ISBN|978-1135040802}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,11/articleid,1109_01_1975_0250_0011_21477257/ "Né omicidio né suicidio: Pinelli cadde perché colto da malore"], ''[[La Stampa]]'', October 29, 1975 {{in lang|it}}.</ref>

Meanwhile, the anarchist Valpreda and five others were convicted and jailed for the bombing. They were later released after three years of [[preventive detention]]. Then, two neo-fascists, [[Franco Freda]] (resident in [[Padua]]) and [[Giovanni Ventura]], were arrested and accused of being the organizers of the massacre; in 1987 they were acquitted by the Supreme Court for lack of evidence.<ref>[http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1987/01/28/strage-di-piazza-fontana-azzerati-17-anni.html?ref=search "STRAGE DI PIAZZA FONTANA AZZERATI 17 ANNI DI INDAGINI"], ''[[la Repubblica]]'', January 28, 1987 {{in lang|it}}.</ref>

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 of double jeopardy, as they were acquitted of the crime in 1987.<ref name=Freda>"Freda e Ventura erano colpevoli", ''[[Corriere della Sera]]'', June 11, 2005 {{in lang|it}}.</ref>

=== 1970 ===
==== Birth of the Red Brigades ====
[[File:RCurcio galassia.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Renato Curcio]] in 2008]]
The [[Red Brigades]] were founded in August 1970 by [[Renato Curcio]] and [[Margherita Cagol|Margherita (Mara) Cagol]], who had met as students at the [[University of Trento]] and later married,<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/> and [[Alberto 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.<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

Another group of militants came from the Sit-Siemens factories in Milan; these were [[Mario Moretti]], a union official, [[Corrado Alunni]], who would leave the Red Brigades to found another organization "fighter", and [[Alfredo Buonavita]], a blue-collar worker.<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

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.

==== ''Golpe Borghese'' attempted coup ====
[[File:Borghese, Junio Valerio colorized (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Junio Valerio Borghese]]]]

In December, a neo-fascist coup, dubbed the ''[[Golpe Borghese]]'', was planned by young far-right fanatics, elderly veterans of [[Italian Social Republic]], and supported by members of the ''[[State Forestry Corps (Italy)|Corpo 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 newspaper ''[[Paese Sera]]'', and publicly exposed three months later.<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

=== 1971 ===
==== Assassination of Alessandro Floris ====
On 26 March, [[Alessandro Floris]] was assassinated in Genoa by a unit of the [[October 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 the ''[[Gruppi di Azione Partigiana]]'' (GAP) and, later, the Red Brigades.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/floris.htm |title=Alessandro Floris – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |date=1939-10-21 |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091114084953/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/floris.htm |archive-date=2009-11-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Red Brigades considered ''Gruppo XXII Ottobre'' its predecessor and, in April 1974, they kidnapped Judge [[Mario Sossi]] in a failed attempt at freeing the jailed members.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archivio900.it/it/nomi/nom.aspx?id=1462 |title=Mario Sossi − |publisher=Archivio900.it |access-date=2010-05-05}}</ref> Years later, the Red Brigades killed judge Francesco Coco on June 8, 1976, along with his two police escorts, Giovanni Saponara and Antioco Deiana, in revenge.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/coco.htm |title=Francesco Coco – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506083102/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/coco.htm |archive-date=2010-05-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== 1972 ===
==== Assassination of Luigi Calabresi ====
[[File:Adriano Sofri 2014.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Adriano Sofri]] in 2014]]

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 in ''Lotta 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 with [[Germans|German]] Gudrun Kiess, in 1974. They were ultimately released. Sixteen years later, [[Adriano Sofri]], [[Giorgio Petrostefani]], [[Ovidio Bompressi]], and [[Leonardo 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/calabresi.htm |title=Luigi Calabresi – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519220952/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/calabresi.htm |archive-date=2009-05-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Calabresi's assassination opened the chapter of assassinations carried out by armed groups of the far-left.<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

==== Peteano bombing ====
{{Further|Vincenzo Vinciguerra#1972 Peteano bombing}}
On 31 May 1972, three Italian [[Carabinieri]] were killed in [[Peteano]] in a bombing, attributed to ''Lotta Continua''. Officers of the Carabinieri were later indicted and convicted for perverting the course of justice.<ref name=Ginzburg>[[Carlo Ginzburg]], ''The Judge and the Historian. Marginal Notes and a Late-Twentieth-century Miscarriage of Justice'', London 1999, {{ISBN|1-85984-371-9}}. Original ed. 1991.</ref> Judge Casson identified ''[[Ordine Nuovo]]'' member [[Vincenzo 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 magistrate [[Felice Casson]] that this [[false flag]] attack had been intended to force the Italian state to declare a [[state of emergency]] and to become more [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]]. Vinciguerra explained how the [[SISMI]] military intelligence agency had protected him, allowing him to escape to [[Francoist Spain]].

Casson's investigation revealed that the right-wing organization Ordine Nuovo had collaborated with the Italian Military Secret Service, [[SISMI|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, the [[Italian Minister of the Interior|Minister of the Interior]], the customs services and the military and civilian intelligence services accepted the ideological reasoning behind the attack."<ref name="Ganser">Daniele Ganser, ''NATO's Secret Armies. [[Operation Gladio]] and Terrorism in Western Europe'', Franck Cass, London, 2005, pp. 3–4</ref><ref name="Strage">{{cite news | title=Strage di Piazza Fontana spunta un agente USA | publisher=[[la Repubblica]] | date=February 11, 1998 | access-date=2007-02-20 | url=https://www.repubblica.it/online/fatti/fontana/fontana/fontana.html|language=it}}</ref>

=== 1973 ===

==== Primavalle fire ====
{{Main|Primavalle fire}}
[[File:Virgilio Mattei nel rogo di Primavalle 01.jpg|thumb|Virgilio Mattei, killed by communists in the [[Primavalle fire]]]]

A 16 April 1973 [[arson]] attack by members of [[Potere Operaio]] on the house of neo-fascist [[Italian Social Movement]] (MSI) militant [[Mario Mattei (MSI)|Mario Mattei]] in [[Primavalle]], [[Rome]], resulted in his two sons, aged 22 and 8, being burned alive.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://roma.repubblica.it/cronaca/2021/08/04/news/rogo_di_primavalle_e_morto_achille_lollo-312922244/|title=Rogo di Primavalle, è morto Achille Lollo|date=4 August 2021|website=la Repubblica}}</ref>

==== Milan Police command bombing ====
{{Main|Milan police headquarters bombing}}
During a 17 May 1973 ceremony honouring Luigi Calabresi, in which the Interior Minister was present, [[Gianfranco Bertoli]], an [[anarchism|anarchist]], threw a bomb that killed four and injured 45.

In 1975, Bertoli was sentenced to life imprisonment: the Milan Court wrote that he was connected with the far-right [[Ordine Nuovo|New Order]] and was a SID informant and a confidant of the Police.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

In the 1990s it was suspected that Bertoli was a member of [[Operation Gladio|Gladio]] but he denied it in an interview: in the list of 622 Gladio members made public in 1990, his name is missing.<ref>[http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,6/articleid,0699_01_1995_0078_0006_10327158/ "Io spia dei Servizi? Follia"], ''[[La Stampa]]'', March 21, 1995 {{in lang|it}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.stay-behind.it/Zas/Documenti/relazione%20andreotti%2026%20febbr%201991.pdf Camera dei deputati – relazione sulla vicenda Gladio – allegati Elenco dei 622 nominativi e Parere dell’Avvocatura dello Stato] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714222810/http://www.stay-behind.it/Zas/Documenti/relazione%20andreotti%2026%20febbr%201991.pdf |date=2014-07-14 }} {{in lang|it}}.</ref>

A magistrate investigating the assassination attempt of Mariano Rumor found that Bertoli's files were incomplete.<ref name="Ginzburg"/> General [[:it:Gianadelio Maletti|Gianadelio Maletti]], head of the SID from 1971 to 1975, was convicted ''in absentia'' in 1990 for obstruction of justice in the Mariano Rumor case.

=== 1974 ===

==== Piazza della Loggia bombing ====
{{Main|Piazza della Loggia bombing}}
[[file:Piazza della Loggia massacre, Brescia.jpg|thumb|[[Piazza della Loggia bombing]]]]
In May 1974, a bomb exploded during an anti-fascist demonstration in [[Brescia]], Lombardy, killing eight and wounding 102. On 16 November 2010, the Court of Brescia acquitted the defendants: [[Francesco Delfino]] (a Carabiniere), [[Carlo Maria Maggi (politician)|Carlo Maria Maggi]], [[Pino Rauti]], [[Maurizio Tramonte]], and [[Delfo Zorzi]] (members of the ''[[Ordine Nuovo]]'' [[neo-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 of [[Milan]] for Maggi and Tramonte. Delfino and Zorzi were definitively acquitted. On 22 July 2015, the appeal court sentenced Maggi and Tramonte to life imprisonment for ordering and coordinating the massacre.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title = Strage di piazza Loggia, ergastolo ai neofascisti Maggi e Tramonte|url = http://brescia.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/15_luglio_22/strage-piazza-loggia-giorno-sentenza-21d95ef0-3062-11e5-8ebc-a14255a4c77f.shtml|access-date = 2015-07-23|website = Corriere della Sera|language = it|date = 2015-07-22}}</ref>

==== First murder by the [[Red Brigades]] ====
On 17 June 1974, two members of MSI were murdered in [[Padua]]. Initially, an internal feud between neo-fascist groups was suspected, since the crime had occurred in the city of [[Franco Freda]]. However, the murder was then claimed by the Red Brigades: it was the first murder of the organization,<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/> which, until then had only committed robberies, bombings, and kidnappings.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

==== Planned coup ====
{{main|White Coup}}
Count [[Edgardo Sogno]] said in his memoirs that in July 1974, he visited the [[Central 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 as ''[[White Coup|Golpe bianco]]'' (White Coup), led by [[Randolfo Pacciardi]].<ref name="WillanCIA">[[Philip Willan]], [https://www.theguardian.com/international/story/0,3604,462976,00.html "Terrorists 'helped by CIA' to stop rise of left in Italy"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', March 26, 2001.</ref>

==== Bombing of Italicus train ====
{{Main|Italicus Express bombing}}
[[File:1974 Italicus Express bombing - Memorial 03.jpg|thumb|Memorial plaque of the [[Italicus Express bombing]]]]

On 4 August 1974, 12 people were killed and 48 others injured in [[Italicus Express bombing|the bombing]] of the Italicus Rome-[[Brenner, South Tyrol|Brenner]] express train at [[San Benedetto Val di Sambro]]. Responsibility was claimed by the [[neo-fascism|neo-fascist]] terrorist organization [[Ordine Nero]].<ref name="Independent-1990">{{cite journal
 | author      = Charles Richards
 | date        = 1 December 1990
 | title       = Gladio is still opening wounds
 | journal     = Independent
 | page       = 12
 | url         = http://www.cambridgeclarion.org/press_cuttings/gladio.parliamentary.committee_indep_1dec1990.html
 | format      = PHP
 | access-date  = 3 August 2009
}}</ref><ref name="Observer-2007">{{cite journal
 | author      = Ed Vulliamy
 | date        = 4 March 2007
 | title       = Blood and glory
 | journal     = The Observer
 | url         = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/mar/04/race.otherparties
 | format      = XHTML
 | access-date  = 3 August 2009
}}</ref><ref name="Bocca">{{cite book
 | last       = Bocca
 | first      = Giorgio
 | title      = Gli anni del terrorismo
 | language   = it
 | pages      = 291–293
}}</ref><ref name="Fasanella">{{cite book
 | last       = Fasanella
 | first      = Giovanni
 |author2=Antonella Grippo
 | title      = I Silenzi degli Innocenti
 | year       = 2006
 | publisher  = BUR
 | language   = it
 | page       = 114
}}</ref><ref name="Moro">{{cite book
 | last       = Moro
 | first      = Maria Fida
 | title      = La Nebulosa del Caso Moro
 | year       = 2004
 | publisher  = Selene
 | location   = Milan
 | language   = it
}}</ref>

==== Arrest of Vito Miceli ====
General [[Vito Miceli]], chief of the [[SIOS]] military intelligence agency in 1969, and head of the [[SISMI|SID]] from 1970 to 1974, was arrested in 1974 on charges of "conspiracy against the state".<ref name="Zavoli"/> 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 current [[SISMI]], the [[SISDE]], and the [[CESIS]], which was to directly coordinate with the [[Prime Minister of Italy]]. An [[Italian Parliamentary Committee on Secret services control]] (Copaco) was created at the same time.<ref>[https://www.parlamento.it/leg/19/BGT/Schede/BicameraliStoriche/v3/4-00065.htm Comitato parlamentare per la sicurezza della Repubblica]</ref> Miceli was acquitted in 1978.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

==== Arrest of Red Brigades leaders ====
In 1974, some leaders of the Red Brigades, including [[Renato Curcio]] and [[Alberto Franceschini]], were arrested, but new leadership continued the war against the Italian right-wing establishment with increased fervour.<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

The Italian government showed reluctance in addressing far-left terrorism. The ruling [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|Christian Democracy]] party underestimated the threat of the Red Brigades, speaking of "phantom" Red Brigades, emphasizing instead the danger of neo-fascist groups. The Italian left wing also was 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.<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

The year before, ''[[Potere Operaio]]'' had disbanded, although ''[[Autonomia Operaia]]'' carried on in its wake. ''Lotta Continua'' also dissolved in 1976, although their magazine struggled on for several years. From the remnants of ''Lotta Continua'' and similar groups, the terror organization ''[[Prima Linea]]'' emerged.

=== 1975 ===
On 28 February, student and fascist activist [[Mikis Mantakas]] was killed by far-leftists during riots in Rome.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

On 13 March, a young militant of [[Italian Social Movement]] (MSI) [[Sergio Ramelli]] was assaulted in Milan by a group of ''Avanguardia Operaia'' and wounded in the head with wrenches (aka ''Hazet 36''). He died on 29 April, after 47 days in the hospital.<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

On 25 May, student and left activist [[Alberto Brasili]] was stabbed in Milan by neo-fascist militants.<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

On 5 June, [[Giovanni D'Alfonso]], a member of the [[Carabinieri]] police force, was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

=== 1976 ===
On 29 April, lawyer and militant of [[Italian Social Movement]] (MSI) [[Enrico Pedenovi]] was killed in Milan by the organization ''[[Prima Linea]]''. This was the first assassination conducted by ''Prima Linea''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/pedenovi.htm |title=Enrico Pedenovi – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504171106/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/pedenovi.htm |archive-date=2010-05-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 8 July, in [[Rome]], Judge [[Vittorio Occorsio]] was killed by neo-fascist [[Pierluigi Concutelli]].<ref name="Zavoli"/>

On 14 December, in Rome, policeman [[Prisco Palumbo]] was killed by the ''[[Nuclei Armati Proletari]]''.<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

On 15 December, in [[Sesto San Giovanni]] (a town near Milan), vice chief [[Vittorio Padovani]] and Marshal [[Sergio Bazzega]] were killed by young extremist [[Walter Alasia]].<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

=== 1977 ===

On 11 March, [[Francesco Lorusso]] was killed by the military police (the [[Carabinieri]]) at the university of [[Bologna]].

On 12 March, a [[Turin]] policeman [[Giuseppe Ciotta]] was killed by ''Prima Linea''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/ciotta.htm |title=Giuseppe Ciotta – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506083052/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/ciotta.htm |archive-date=2010-05-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 22 March, a [[Rome]] policeman [[Claudio Graziosi]] was killed by ''[[Nuclei Armati Proletari]]''.<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

On 28 April, in Turin, lawyer [[Fulvio Croce]] was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

On 12 May, in Rome, 19-year-old student [[Death of Giorgiana Masi|Giorgiana 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 policeman [[Antonio Custra]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/custra.htm |title=Antonio Custra – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506065604/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/custra.htm |archive-date=2010-05-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A photographer took a photo of an activist shooting at the police. This year was called the time of the "P38", referring to the [[Walther P38]] pistol.

On 16 November, in Turin, [[Carlo Casalegno]], deputy director of the newspaper ''[[La Stampa]]'', was seriously wounded in an ambush of the Red Brigades. He died thirteen days later, on November 29.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

=== 1978 ===
On 4 January, in [[Cassino]], chief of Fiat security [[Carmine De Rosa]] was killed by leftists.<ref name=Galli>{{cite book |first=Giorgio |last=Galli |title=Storia del partito armato|place=Milan |publisher=Rizzoli Editore | year=1986}}</ref>

On 7 January, in [[Rome]] young militants of [[Italian Social Movement]] (MSI) [[Acca Larentia killings|Franco Bigonzetti and Francesco Ciavatta were killed by far-leftists]], another militant ([[Stefano Recchioni]]) was killed by the police during a violent demonstration.<ref name="Galli"/> Some militants left the MSI and founded the ''[[Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari]]'', which had ties with the Roman criminal organization ''[[Banda della Magliana]]''.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

On 20 January, in [[Florence]], policeman [[Fausto Dionisi]] was killed by ''Prima Linea''.<ref name="Galli"/>

On 7 February, in [[Prato]] (a town near Florence), notary [[Gianfranco Spighi]] was killed by leftists.<ref name="Galli"/>

On 14 February, in [[Rome]], Judge [[Riccardo Palma]] was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="Galli"/>

On 10 March, in [[Turin]], Marshal [[Rosario Berardi]] was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="Galli"/>

On 16 March in Milan, the [[killing of Fausto and Iaio]] occurred. Nobody has ever been found responsible for the double murder.<ref name="Biacchessi">{{cite book |last1=Biacchessi |first1=Daniele |title=Fausto e Iaio: La speranza muore a diciotto anni |date=2015 |publisher=Baldini & Castoldi |location=Milan |type=ebook|isbn=978-8868528355}}</ref>

On 11 April, in [[Turin]], policeman [[Lorenzo Cutugno]] was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

On 20 April, in [[Milan]], policeman [[Francesco Di Cataldo]] was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

On 10 October, in [[Rome]], judge [[Girolamo Tartaglione]] was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

On 11 October, in [[Naples]], university teacher [[Alfredo Paolella]] was killed by ''Prima Linea''.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

On 8 November, in [[Patrica]] (a town near Frosinone), judge [[Fedele Calvosa]] was killed by the ''Unità Comuniste Combattenti''.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

==== Kidnapping and assassination of Aldo Moro ====
{{Main|Kidnapping of Aldo Moro}}
[[File:Aldo Moro br.jpg|thumb|[[Aldo Moro]], photographed during [[Kidnapping of Aldo Moro|his kidnapping by the Red Brigades]]]]

On 16 March 1978, [[Aldo Moro]] was kidnapped by the [[Red Brigades]] (then led by [[Mario Moretti]]) and five of his security detail were killed. Aldo Moro was a left-leaning [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|Christian Democrat]] who served several times as prime minister; before his murder, he had been trying to include the [[Italian Communist Party]] (PCI), headed by [[Enrico Berlinguer]], in the government through a deal called the ''[[Historic 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 its [[Eurocommunism|eurocommunist]] doctrine. The PCI was especially strong in areas such as [[Emilia 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 and [[trade union]]s: some left-wing politicians used the expression "comrades who do wrong" (''Compagni che sbagliano''). {{Interlanguage link|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 March 15 or 17".<ref name="MontanelliCervi"/>

On 9 May 1978, after a summary "trial of the people", Moro was murdered by Mario Moretti with, it was also determined, the participation of {{Interlanguage link|Germano Maccari|it}}.<ref>Flavio Haver, "Erano le 6.30, così uccidemmo Moro", ''[[Corriere della Sera]]'', June 20, 1996 {{in lang|it}}.</ref> 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 of ''[[Autonomia Operaia]]'', including, [[Oreste Scalzone]] and political philosopher [[Antonio Negri]] (arrested on 7 April 1979).

=== 1979 ===
Active armed organizations grew from 2 in 1969 to 91 in 1977 and 269 in 1979. In that year there were 659 attacks.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

==== Most yearly assassinations ====
On 19 January, [[Turin]] policeman [[Giuseppe Lorusso]] was killed by the ''Prima Linea'' organization.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/lorusso.htm |title=Giuseppe Lorusso – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524205128/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/lorusso.htm |archive-date=2010-05-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 24 January, worker and trade unionist [[Guido Rossa]] was killed in Genoa by the Red Brigades.<ref name=MoCe>{{cite book |first=Indro |last=Montanelli |author2=Mario Cervi|title=L'Italia degli anni di fango|place=Milan, Lombardy, Italy |publisher=Rizzoli Editore | year=1993}}</ref>

On 29 January, Judge [[Emilio Alesandrini]] was killed in Milan by ''Prima Linea''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/alessandrini.htm |title=Emilio Alessandrini – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218165817/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/alessandrini.htm |archive-date=2009-12-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 9 March, university student [[Emanuele Iurilli]] was killed in Turin by ''Prima Linea''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/iurilli.htm |title=Emanuele Iurilli – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506083522/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/iurilli.htm |archive-date=2010-05-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 20 March, investigative journalist [[Mino Pecorelli]] was gunned down in his car in [[Rome]]. Prime Minister [[Giulio Andreotti]] and Mafia boss [[Gaetano Badalamenti]] were sentenced in 2002 to 24 years in prison for the murder, though the sentences were overturned the following year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-06/giulio-andreotti-obit.html|title=Andreotti, Ex-Italian Premier Linked to Mafia, Dies at 94|work=Bloomberg|date=6 May 2013}}</ref>

On 3 May, in [[Rome]], policemen [[Antonio Mea]] and [[Piero Ollanu]] were killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="MoCe"/>

On 13 July, in [[Druento]] (a town near Turin), policeman [[Bartolomeo Mana]] was killed by ''Prima Linea''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/mana.htm |title=Bartolomeo Mana – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506083552/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/mana.htm |archive-date=2010-05-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 13 July, in [[Rome]], Lieutenant Colonel of Carabinieri [[Antonio Varisco]] was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="MoCe"/>

On 18 July, barman [[Carmine Civitate]] was killed in Turin, by ''Prima Linea''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/civitate.htm |title=Carmine Civitate – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506083057/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/civitate.htm |archive-date=2010-05-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 21 September, [[Carlo Ghiglieno]] was killed in Turin by a group of ''Prima Linea''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/ghiglieno.htm |title=Carlo Ghiglieno – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |date=1928-06-27 |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506083456/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/ghiglieno.htm |archive-date=2010-05-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 11 December, five teachers and five students of the "Valletta" Institute in Turin were shot in the legs by ''Prima Linea''.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

=== 1980 ===

==== More assassinations ====
On 8 January, [[Milan]] policemen [[Antonio Cestari]], [[Rocco Santoro]], and [[Michele Tatulli]] were killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

On 25 January, [[Genoa]] policemen [[Emanuele Tuttobene]] and [[Antonio Casu]] were killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

On 29 January, petrochemical plant manager [[Silvio Gori]] was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

On 5 February, in [[Monza]], Paolo Paoletti was killed by ''Prima Linea''.<ref>[http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/paoletti.htm "Paolo Paoletti"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321060024/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/paoletti.htm |date=2015-03-21 }}, AIVITER.</ref><ref>Presidenza della Repubblica, ''Per le vittime del terrorismo nell'Italia repubblicana: 'giorno della memoria' dedicato alle vittime del terrorismo e delle stragi di tale matrice, 9 maggio 2008'' (Rome: Istituto poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, 2008), p. 132, {{ISBN|978-88-240-2868-4}}</ref>

On 7 February, Prima Linea militant [[William Vaccher]] was killed on suspicion of treason.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

On 12 February, in [[Rome]], at the "La Sapienza" University, [[Vittorio Bachelet]], vice-president of the [[High Council of the Judiciary (Italy)|High Council of the Judiciary]] and former president of the Roman Catholic association [[Azione Cattolica]], was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

On 10 March, in [[Rome]], cook [[Luigi Allegretti]] was killed by ''Compagni armati per il Comunismo''.<ref name="MoCe"/>

On 16 March, in [[Salerno]], Judge [[Nicola Giacumbi]] was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

On 18 March, in [[Rome]], Judge [[Girolamo Minervini]] was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="MoCe"/>

On 19 March, in [[Milan]], Judge [[Guido Galli]] was killed by a group of ''Prima Linea''.<ref>[http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/galli.htm "Guido Galli"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022221930/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/galli.htm |date=2007-10-22 }}, AIVITER.</ref>

On 10 April, in [[Turin]], [[Giuseppe Pisciuneri]] a Mondialpol guard, was killed by ''[[Ronde Proletarie]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/pisciuneri.htm |title=Giuseppe Pisciuneri – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506083704/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/pisciuneri.htm |archive-date=2010-05-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 28 May, in [[Milan]], journalist [[Walter Tobagi]] was killed by ''[[Brigata XXVIII marzo]]''.<ref name="MoCe"/>

On 23 June, in [[Rome]], Judge [[Mario Amato]] was killed by the ''Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari''.<ref name="MoCe"/>

On 31 December, in [[Rome]], General of Carabinieri [[Enrico Galvaligi]] was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="MoCe"/>

==== Bologna massacre ====
{{Main|Bologna massacre}}
[[File:Strage di bologna funerali 1.jpg|thumb|Funerals of the victims of the [[Bologna massacre|Bologna bombing]] of 2 August 1980]]

On 2 August, a bomb killed 85 people and wounded more than 200 in [[Bologna]]. Known as the [[Bologna 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 the ''[[Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari]]'': [[Francesca Mambro]] and [[Valerio 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 to ''[[Terza Posizione]]''. Ciavardini received a 30-year prison sentence for his role in the attack.<ref>{{cite news | title = Bologna bomber's 30-year jail term confirmed | agency = Associated Press | date = April 11, 2007}}</ref>

===1981===
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.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

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 brother [[Patrizio Paci|Patrizio]], a member of RB who became [[pentito]] the year before.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

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 Red Brigades. He was freed in [[Padua]] on 28 January 1982 by the ''[[Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza]]'' (NOCS), an Italian police anti-terrorist task force.<ref>Collin, Richard Oliver and Gordon L. Freedman. ''[[Winter of Fire (non-fiction)|Winter of Fire]]'', Penguin Group, 1990.</ref>

=== 1982 ===
On 26 August, a group of Red Brigades terrorists attacked a military troop convoy, in [[Salerno]]. In the attack, Corporal Antonio Palumbo<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/palombo.htm |title=Antonio Palumbo – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2016-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405083907/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/palombo.htm |archive-date=2016-04-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and policemen [[Antonio Bandiera]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/bandiera.htm |title=Antonio Bandiera – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2016-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827151312/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/bandiera.htm |archive-date=2016-08-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[Mario De Marco]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/de_marco.htm |title=Mario De Marco – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2016-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074623/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/de_marco.htm |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> were killed. The terrorists escaped.

On 21 October, a group of Red Brigades terrorists attacked a bank in [[Turin]], killing two guards, [[Antonio Pedio]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/pedio.htm |title=Antonio Pedio – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525173844/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/pedio.htm |archive-date=2010-05-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[Sebastiano d'Alleo]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/dalleo.htm |title=Sebastiano D'Alleo – Associazione Vittime del Terrorismo |publisher=Vittimeterrorismo.it |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506083142/http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/dalleo.htm |archive-date=2010-05-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== 1984 ===
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.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

==== Christmas massacre ====
{{Main|Train 904 bombing}}
[[File:Rapido 904.jpg|thumb|An UIC-X carriage was destroyed following the [[Train 904 bombing]]]]

On 23 December, a bomb in a train between Florence and Rome killed 16 and wounded more than 200. In 1992, Mafia soldiers [[Giuseppe Calò]] and [[Guido Cercola]] were sentenced to life imprisonment, [[Franco Di Agostino]] (another member of the [[Sicilian Mafia]]) got 24 years, and German engineer [[Friedrich Schaudinn]] 22 for the bombing. [[Camorra]]'s member Giuseppe Misso was sentenced to 3 years; other members of Camorra, [[Alfonso Galeota]] and [[Giulio Pirozzi]] were sentenced to 18 months, and their role in the massacre was deemed marginal.<ref>"Strage di Natale, ergastolo al boss", ''Corriere della Sera'', November 25, 1992 {{in lang|it}}.</ref> On February 18, 1994, the Florence court absolved [[Italian Social Movement|MSI]] member of Parliament [[Massimo 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 judiciary expenses.<ref>"Abbatangelo: condanna definitiva a 6 anni", ''Corriere della Sera'', December 20, 1994 {{in lang|it}}.</ref>

=== 1985 ===
On 9 January, in [[Torvaianica]] (a town near Rome), policeman [[Ottavio Conte]] was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="MoCe"/>

On 27 March, in [[Rome]], economist [[Ezio Tarantelli]] was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="MoCe"/>

=== 1986 ===
On 10 February 1986, [[Lando Conti]], former mayor of Florence, was killed by the Red Brigades.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

=== 1987 ===
On 20 March 1987, [[Licio Giorgieri]], a general in the [[Italian Air Force]], was assassinated by the Red Brigades in Rome.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

=== 1988 ===
On 16 April 1988, Senator Roberto Ruffilli was assassinated in an attack by a group of the Red Brigades in [[Forlì]]. It was the last murder committed by the Red Brigades: on 23 October a group of ''irriducibili'' (hardliners) declared, in a document, that war against the State was over.<ref name="Zavoli"/>

==Events after 1988==
=== Resurgence in the 1990s and 2000s===
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 (jurist)|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 near [[Castiglion Fiorentino]].

=== 2021 arrests===
In 2021, France arrested seven of the dozens of fugitive leftist militants who had been given French protection for decades. Among the arrested were [[Giorgio Pietrostefani]], a founding member of the [[Lotta Continua]] group who was convicted of the murder of Milan police commissioner [[Luigi Calabresi]]. Others were Marina Petrella, Roberta Cappelli and Sergio Tornaghi who had received life sentences for murders and kidnappings.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2021-04-28|title=France arrests 7 Italian leftist militants it harboured for decades|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-arrests-italians-who-had-been-run-after-terrorism-convictions-2021-04-28/|access-date=2021-04-30|website=Reuters}}</ref>

==Countries that granted participants asylum ==

=== France ===
[[File:President François Mitterrand in 1983.jpg|thumb|upright|[[François Mitterrand]]]]

The [[Mitterrand doctrine]], which was established in 1985 by then [[Socialist Party (France)|socialist]] French president [[François 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 to [[extradition]] to Italy. They would be integrated into French society.

The act was announced on 21 April 1985, at the 65th Congress of the [[Human Rights League (France)|Human 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:

{{blockquote|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.<ref>''Les réfugiés italiens&nbsp;... qui ont participé à l'action terroriste avant 1981&nbsp;... ont rompu avec la machine infernale dans laquelle ils s'étaient engagés, ont abordé une deuxième phase de leur propre vie, se sont inséré dans la société française&nbsp;.... J'ai dit au gouvernement italien qu'ils étaient à l'abri de toute sanction par voie d'extradition&nbsp;....''</ref>}}According to Reuters, the Italian guerillas numbered in the dozens. The French decision had a long term negative effect on French-Italian relations.<ref name=":1" />

French justice minister [[Éric Dupond-Moretti|Eric Dupond-Moretti]] said he was<ref name=":1" />

{{Blockquote|text="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"|source=Reuters, 27 March 2021}}

=== Brazil ===
Some Italian citizens accused of terrorist acts have found refuge in [[Brazil]] such as [[Cesare Battisti (born 1954)|Cesare Battisti]] and others former members of the [[Armed Proletarians for Communism]], a far-left militant and terrorist organization.

=== Nicaragua ===
Some Italian far-left activists found political asylum in [[Nicaragua]], including [[Alessio Casimirri]], who took part in the [[kidnapping of Aldo Moro]].

== Impact on emigration from Italy ==
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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Powell|first=John|date=2016|title=Italian immigration|url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/fofnorth/italian_immigration/0?institutionId=8558.%20Accessed%2022%20Sep.%202020.|website=Credo Reference}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Armed, far-right organizations in Italy]]
* [[Red Brigades]]
* [[1968 movement in Italy]]
* [[Definitions of terrorism]]
* [[Guido Rossa]]
* [[History of the Italian Republic]]
* [[Movement of 1977]]
* ''[[La notte della Repubblica]]'' (TV programme)
* [[List of films about the Years of Lead (Italy)]]
* [[Operation Gladio]]
* [[German Autumn]]
* [[Political violence in Turkey (1976–80)]]
* [[The Troubles]] (Ireland)
* [[Poliziotteschi]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}
{{Reflist|group=N}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== Bibliography ==
* Coco, Vittorio. "Conspiracy Theories in Republican Italy: The Pellegrino Report to the Parliamentary Commission on Terrorism." ''Journal of Modern Italian Studies'' 20.3 (2015): 361–376.
* Diazzi, Alessandra,  and Alvise Sforza Tarabochia, eds. ''The Years of Alienation in Italy: Factory and Asylum Between the Economic Miracle and the Years of Lead'' (2019)
* Drake, Richard. "Italy in the 1960s: A Legacy of Terrorism and Liberation." ''South central review'' 16 (1999): 62–76. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3190077 online]
* {{cite book |first=Anna |last=Cento Bull |author2=Adalgisa Giorgio|title=Speaking Out and Silencing: Culture, Society and Politics in Italy in the 1970s| year=2006}}
* King, Amy. "Antagonistic martyrdom: memory of the 1973 Rogo di Primavalle." ''Modern Italy'' 25.1 (2020): 33–48.

===In Italian===
* {{cite book |first=Giorgio |last=Galli |title=Storia del partito armato|place=Milan, Lombardy, Italy |publisher=Rizzoli Editore | year=1986}}
* {{cite journal |first=Nicola |last=Guerra |title=Il linguaggio politico della sinistra e della destra extraparlamentari negli anni di piombo|journal=Italian Studies |language=Italian|trans-title= The political language of the extra-parliamentary left and right in the years of lead|publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2021|volume=76 |issue=4 |pages=406–420 |doi=10.1080/00751634.2021.1923172 |s2cid=236341889 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite book |first=Indro |last=Montanelli |author2=Mario Cervi|title=L'Italia dei due Giovanni|place=Milan, Lombardy, Italy |publisher=Rizzoli Editore | year=1989}}
* {{cite book |first=Indro |last=Montanelli |author2=Mario Cervi|title=L'Italia degli anni di piombo|place=Milan, Lombardy, Italy |publisher=Rizzoli Editore | year=1991}}
* {{Cite book |first=Sergio |last=Zavoli |title=La notte della repubblica |place=Rome, Lazio, Italy |publisher=Nuova Eri |year=1992}}
* {{cite book |first=Indro |last=Montanelli |author2=Mario Cervi|title=L'Italia degli anni di fango|place=Milan, Lombardy, Italy |publisher=Rizzoli Editore | year=1993}}
* {{cite journal |first=Nicola |last=Guerra |title=Il linguaggio politico della sinistra e della destra extraparlamentari negli anni di piombo|journal=Italian Studies |language=Italian|trans-title= The political language of the extra-parliamentary left and right in the years of lead|publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2021|volume=76 |issue=4 |pages=406–420 |doi=10.1080/00751634.2021.1923172 |s2cid=236341889 |doi-access=free }}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.cerc.unimelb.edu.au/publications/CERCWP012001.pdf|title=Italy's Invisible Government|first=Rosella|last=Dossi|publisher=Contemporary Europe Research Centre|website=[[University of Melbourne]]|date=2001|access-date=15 February 2022|archive-date=26 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070226152427/http://www.cerc.unimelb.edu.au/publications/CERCWP012001.pdf|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web |title=Per le vittime del terrorismo nell'Italia repubblicana|language=Italian|trans-title=For the victims of terrorism in the Italian Republic |url=http://www.prefettura.it/FILES/AllegatiPag/1208/vittimeterrorismo-compresso.pdf|access-date=15 February 2022|website=Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato S.p.A.|publisher=The office of Republic President|date=2008 }}

{{1968 protests}}
{{Cold War}}
{{Italy topics}}

[[Category:Years of Lead (Italy)| ]]
[[Category:History of the Italian Republic]]
[[Category:Communist terrorism]]
[[Category:Neo-fascist terrorism]]
[[Category:Proxy wars]]
[[Category:Dirty wars]]
[[Category:1970s in Italy]]
[[Category:1980s in Italy]]