Fatti di Reggio
Encyclopedia
The Reggio revolt occurred in Reggio Calabria
, Italy
, from July 1970 to February 1971. The cause of the protests was a government decision to make Catanzaro, not Reggio, regional capital of Calabria
. The nomination of a regional capital was the result of a decentralization programme of the Italian government, under which 15 governmental regions were created and given their own administrative councils and a measure of local autonomy.
When in July the much smaller town of Catanzaro (with a population of 82,000 against 160,000 in Reggio) was chosen Reggio exploded. On July 14, a general strike was called in protest. Five days of street violence left one dead and several policemen injured. A force of 5,000 armed police and carabinieri
was moved into the area. The government ordered state-owned TV not to carry any news of the insurrection. However, the revolt steadily picked up steam and sympathy.
Prolonged road and rail blockages damaged the whole country. Strikes, barricades and wrecked tracks forced trains from the north to halt two hours short of Reggio. The Highway of the Sun, Italy's main north-south autostrada, was sealed off. When the port was blocked, hundreds of trucks and freight cars stood idle on the other side of the Straits of Messina.
The revolt was taken over by young neofascists of the Italian Social Movement
(Movimento Sociale Italiano – MSI) backed by the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia
-type criminal organisation based in Calabria. Francesco Franco, a trade union leader from the CISNAL labour union close to the neofascist movement became the informal leader of the revolt. "Boia chi molla" (Death to him who gives up) was the right-wing rallying cry during the revolt.
On July 22, 1970, a bomb exploded on "Treno del Sole", the Palermo-Torino train, in the Calabrian city of Gioia Tauro, killing 6 persons and wounding 136. The Gioia Tauro massacre was linked to the revolt. In the 1993, ‘Ndrangheta pentito Giacomo Lauro
said he supplied the explosives to people linked to the leaders of the revolt.
On February 23, 1971, armored cars entered the Sbarre neighbourhood and finally suppressed the revolt. According to official figures of the Italian Ministry of the Interior there were 3 dead, and 190 policemen and 37 civilians wounded. Other sources mention 5 dead and hundreds of wounded. The so-called Colombo Package (named after then Prime minister Emilio Colombo
) offering to build the Fifth Steelwork Centre in Reggio, an investment of 3 billion lire which world create 10,000 jobs, softened the people of Reggio and helped to quell the revolt.
Catanzaro and Reggio Calabria became Calabria's joint regional capitals, Catanzaro as the seat of the regional administration and Reggio Calabria as the seat of the regional parliament.
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, from July 1970 to February 1971. The cause of the protests was a government decision to make Catanzaro, not Reggio, regional capital of Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
. The nomination of a regional capital was the result of a decentralization programme of the Italian government, under which 15 governmental regions were created and given their own administrative councils and a measure of local autonomy.
When in July the much smaller town of Catanzaro (with a population of 82,000 against 160,000 in Reggio) was chosen Reggio exploded. On July 14, a general strike was called in protest. Five days of street violence left one dead and several policemen injured. A force of 5,000 armed police and carabinieri
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
was moved into the area. The government ordered state-owned TV not to carry any news of the insurrection. However, the revolt steadily picked up steam and sympathy.
Prolonged road and rail blockages damaged the whole country. Strikes, barricades and wrecked tracks forced trains from the north to halt two hours short of Reggio. The Highway of the Sun, Italy's main north-south autostrada, was sealed off. When the port was blocked, hundreds of trucks and freight cars stood idle on the other side of the Straits of Messina.
The revolt was taken over by young neofascists of the Italian Social Movement
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement , and later the Italian Social Movement–National Right , was a neo-fascist and post-fascist political party in Italy. Formed in 1946 by supporters of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the party became the fourth largest party in Italy by the early 1960s...
(Movimento Sociale Italiano – MSI) backed by the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
-type criminal organisation based in Calabria. Francesco Franco, a trade union leader from the CISNAL labour union close to the neofascist movement became the informal leader of the revolt. "Boia chi molla" (Death to him who gives up) was the right-wing rallying cry during the revolt.
On July 22, 1970, a bomb exploded on "Treno del Sole", the Palermo-Torino train, in the Calabrian city of Gioia Tauro, killing 6 persons and wounding 136. The Gioia Tauro massacre was linked to the revolt. In the 1993, ‘Ndrangheta pentito Giacomo Lauro
Giacomo Lauro
Giacomo Lauro , also called Giacomo da Treviso, was an Italian painter, of the late Renaissance, active mainly in his native Venice and Treviso. He was a follower of Paolo Veronese. He painted a St. Roch interceding for victims of the plague. He died in Treviso.-References:...
said he supplied the explosives to people linked to the leaders of the revolt.
On February 23, 1971, armored cars entered the Sbarre neighbourhood and finally suppressed the revolt. According to official figures of the Italian Ministry of the Interior there were 3 dead, and 190 policemen and 37 civilians wounded. Other sources mention 5 dead and hundreds of wounded. The so-called Colombo Package (named after then Prime minister Emilio Colombo
Emilio Colombo
Emilio Colombo is an Italian politician who was Prime Minister of Italy from 1970 to 1972. In addition to having held top positions in Italian governments, he was also active in European politics.-Biography:...
) offering to build the Fifth Steelwork Centre in Reggio, an investment of 3 billion lire which world create 10,000 jobs, softened the people of Reggio and helped to quell the revolt.
Catanzaro and Reggio Calabria became Calabria's joint regional capitals, Catanzaro as the seat of the regional administration and Reggio Calabria as the seat of the regional parliament.
External links
- I giorni della rabbia - La rivolta di Reggio Calabria, La Storia siamo noi - Rai Educational