Filippo Turati
Encyclopedia
Filippo Turati was an Italian
sociologist
, poet and Socialist
politician.
, province of Como
, he graduated in law at the University of Bologna
in 1877, and participated in the Scapigliatura
movement with the most important artists of the period in Milan
, publishing poetry. His Inno dei Lavoratori ("Workers' Hymn
"), adapted to music, became the most popular song of the nascent labor movement.
Turati became interested in politics, being attracted to the democratic
movement before joining the more specific Socialist groups. His most important sociological work of this period is Il Delitto e la Questione Sociale, in which he examines how social conditions affect crime. He met Anna Kulischov while working on a survey of social conditions in Naples
. Kulischov was an exile from Russia who had become the companion of Andrea Costa
, an Anarchist
leader - when she converted to Socialism, Costa followed, sending an important letter to his anarchist comrades in which he abandoned the movement. Kulischov and Costa had split by the time she met Turati. The two immediately fell in love, and lived together until her death in 1925.
s in the founding of the Italian Socialist Party
(PSI) in 1892(it took that name in 1895). They were reformists
, believing that Socialism would come about gradually, primarily through action in the Italian Parliament
, labor organization
, and education
, spreading their ideas through their journal Critica Sociale
- a review originally founded by their friend Arcangelo Ghisleri
under the title Cuore e Critica. It was the most influential Marxist
review in Italy before World War I
. Shut down by Benito Mussolini
's Fascist regime, it was reestablished after World War II
, and is still in print.
In the years following the party's foundation, the Italian government attempted to suppress it. Turati advocated alliances with other Italian democratic forces, meant to defeat the government's reactionary
policies, and to advance left-wing causes. In 1898 Turati was arrested and charged with being the inspirator of the popular riot that broke out in the whole country against the rise of the bread price. He was freed the following year.
Under Prime Minister
Luigi Pelloux
, the country was governed by a highly conservative
politicians which were met with stiff resistance from the left, and in 1899 they were defeated thanks in large part to the PSI's policies. In 1901, Giuseppe Zanardelli
, a Liberal
, became Prime Minister - accompanied by Giovanni Giolitti
as the Minister of the Interior
- Giolitti who would dominate Italian politics until 1915. This Liberal cabinet risked losing a vote in Parliament, with the possibility that a more conservative politician, Sidney Sonnino
, would come to power; Turati urged that the Socialist deputies vote for the Zanardelli government. When the party Directorate refused to sanction the vote, he convinced the deputies to do so anyway.
The vote brought the incipient split in the party between right and left wings to a head, even if the Liberal government had allowed workers the right to strike
, and despite the fact that the subsequent strike wave resulted in improved conditions in industry and on the land. Between 1901 and 1906, power in the party seesawed between the Turati-led reformists and the revolution
aries under various leaders. After 1906, splits surfaced among the reformists themselves. In 1912, as a result of Socialist reaction against the Italo-Turkish War
(1911–1912), revolutionaries took over the party. Benito Mussolini
, one of their leaders, became editor of the party newspaper Avanti!
; Turati opposed Mussolini, but proved unable to dislodge him. He had opposed the conflict, and would oppose Italy's entrance into World War I
- while Mussolini moved to an irredentist
position (and came to be expelled from the PSI after arguing for Italy to join the Entente Powers
). Despite the fact that he was a pacifist in June 1918 he strongly supported the Italian Army that was fighting the Battle of Solstizio
.
Fasci Italiani di Combattimento
, and then the National Fascist Party
which came to power in 1922 (after its March on Rome
). Filippo Turati and Anna Kulischov, who knew Mussolini well, were major opponents of Fascism
, and lived under constant surveillance and threats. In a series of prescient speeches, Turati argued that the new revolutionary program adopted by the PSI in 1919 would lead to disaster, and he advocated political alliances with other opponents of Fascism. This policy was rejected and the PSI split in 1921, with the formation of the Italian Communist Party
. In 1922, when Turati's group was expelled and established a new group, the United Socialist Party
(PSU). In 1924, Turati's disciple and Secretary of the PSU, Giacomo Matteotti
, was assassinated by Mussolini's Ceka; this seminal event prompted Mussolini to formalize his dictatorship
between 1925 and 1926.
In 1926, Turati fled Italy in a dramatic escape to France
- aided by Carlo Rosselli
, Ferruccio Parri
and future president of the Italian republic Sandro Pertini. In Paris, he was the soul of the non-Communist
anti-Fascist
resistance, traveling across Europe and alerting democrats to the Fascist danger - which he saw as a phenomenon with far-reaching consequences. He died in French capital in March, 1932.
After World War II, Turati's remains were transferred after to Milan's Cimitero Monumentale
, where he is buried next to Anna Kulischov.
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...
sociologist
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, poet and Socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
politician.
Early life
Born in CanzoCanzo
Canzo or Canz is a town and comune in the province of Como, in Lombardy. It has 5,192 citizens and an area of 11.8 km², with a density of 445 humans/km²...
, province of Como
Province of Como
The Province of Como is a province in the north of the Lombardy region of Italy and borders the Swiss cantons of Ticino and Grigioni to the North, the Italian provinces of Sondrio and Lecco to the East, the Province of Milan to the south and the Province of Varese to the West...
, he graduated in law at the University of Bologna
University of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
in 1877, and participated in the Scapigliatura
Scapigliatura
Scapigliatura is the name of the artistic movement which developed in Italy after the period known as Risorgimento,...
movement with the most important artists of the period in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, publishing poetry. His Inno dei Lavoratori ("Workers' Hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
"), adapted to music, became the most popular song of the nascent labor movement.
Turati became interested in politics, being attracted to the democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
movement before joining the more specific Socialist groups. His most important sociological work of this period is Il Delitto e la Questione Sociale, in which he examines how social conditions affect crime. He met Anna Kulischov while working on a survey of social conditions in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. Kulischov was an exile from Russia who had become the companion of Andrea Costa
Andrea Costa
Andrea Costa was an Italian socialist activist, born in Imola.He co-founded the Partito dei Lavoratori Italiani in 1892 after renouncing his anarchist principles in 1879. It is probable that this happened due to his marriage to Russian Socialist Anna Kulischov...
, an Anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
leader - when she converted to Socialism, Costa followed, sending an important letter to his anarchist comrades in which he abandoned the movement. Kulischov and Costa had split by the time she met Turati. The two immediately fell in love, and lived together until her death in 1925.
PSI
Turati and Anna Kulischov were the most instrumental intellectualIntellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
s in the founding of the Italian Socialist Party
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II...
(PSI) in 1892(it took that name in 1895). They were reformists
Reformism
Reformism is the belief that gradual democratic changes in a society can ultimately change a society's fundamental economic relations and political structures...
, believing that Socialism would come about gradually, primarily through action in the Italian Parliament
Parliament of Italy
The Parliament of Italy is the national parliament of Italy. It is a bicameral legislature with 945 elected members . The Chamber of Deputies, with 630 members is the lower house. The Senate of the Republic is the upper house and has 315 members .Since 2005, a party list electoral law is being...
, labor organization
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
, and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, spreading their ideas through their journal Critica Sociale
Critica Sociale
Critica Sociale is a left-wing Italian newspaper. It is linked to the social democratic Partito Socialista Nuovo PSI party. Before Benito Mussolini banned opposition newspapers in 1926, Critica Sociale was a prominent supporter of the original Italian Socialist Party , which included a spectrum of...
- a review originally founded by their friend Arcangelo Ghisleri
Arcangelo Ghisleri
Arcangelo Ghisleri Ghisleri was born in the comune of Persico Dosimo .A well known geographer by profession, he created numerous maps of Africa...
under the title Cuore e Critica. It was the most influential Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
review in Italy before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Shut down by Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
's Fascist regime, it was reestablished after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and is still in print.
In the years following the party's foundation, the Italian government attempted to suppress it. Turati advocated alliances with other Italian democratic forces, meant to defeat the government's reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
policies, and to advance left-wing causes. In 1898 Turati was arrested and charged with being the inspirator of the popular riot that broke out in the whole country against the rise of the bread price. He was freed the following year.
Under Prime Minister
Prime minister of Italy
The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...
Luigi Pelloux
Luigi Pelloux
Luigi Gerolamo Pelloux was an Italian general and politician, born of parents who retained their Italian nationality when Savoy was annexed to France....
, the country was governed by a highly conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
politicians which were met with stiff resistance from the left, and in 1899 they were defeated thanks in large part to the PSI's policies. In 1901, Giuseppe Zanardelli
Giuseppe Zanardelli
Giuseppe Zanardelli was an Italian jurisconsult, nationalist and political figure. He was the 24th Prime Minister of Italy from February 15, 1901 to November 3, 1903.-Biography:...
, a Liberal
Liberalism and radicalism in Italy
- Background :The formation of political groups in the 19th century in divided Italy is based on personalities, like Camillo di Cavour and Giuseppe Mazzini. Both the Historical Right and the Historical Left were composed of monarchist liberals, while radicals organised themselves as the Radical...
, became Prime Minister - accompanied by Giovanni Giolitti
Giovanni Giolitti
Giovanni Giolitti was an Italian statesman. He was the 19th, 25th, 29th, 32nd and 37th Prime Minister of Italy between 1892 and 1921. A left-wing liberal, Giolitti's periods in office were notable for the passage of a wide range of progressive social reforms which improved the living standards of...
as the Minister of the Interior
Italian Minister of the Interior
This is a list of Italian Ministers of the Interior since 1861.-Kingdom of Italy:-Italian Republic:...
- Giolitti who would dominate Italian politics until 1915. This Liberal cabinet risked losing a vote in Parliament, with the possibility that a more conservative politician, Sidney Sonnino
Sidney Sonnino
Baron Sidney Costantino Sonnino was an Italian politician.Sonnino was born in Pisa to an Italian father of Jewish heritage and a Welsh mother...
, would come to power; Turati urged that the Socialist deputies vote for the Zanardelli government. When the party Directorate refused to sanction the vote, he convinced the deputies to do so anyway.
The vote brought the incipient split in the party between right and left wings to a head, even if the Liberal government had allowed workers the right to strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
, and despite the fact that the subsequent strike wave resulted in improved conditions in industry and on the land. Between 1901 and 1906, power in the party seesawed between the Turati-led reformists and the revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
aries under various leaders. After 1906, splits surfaced among the reformists themselves. In 1912, as a result of Socialist reaction against the Italo-Turkish War
Italo-Turkish War
The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy from September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912.As a result of this conflict, Italy was awarded the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and...
(1911–1912), revolutionaries took over the party. Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, one of their leaders, became editor of the party newspaper Avanti!
Avanti! (Italian newspaper)
Avanti! is an Italian daily newspaper, born as the official voice of the Italian Socialist Party, published since December 25, 1896. It took its name from its German counterpart Vorwärts.-History:...
; Turati opposed Mussolini, but proved unable to dislodge him. He had opposed the conflict, and would oppose Italy's entrance into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
- while Mussolini moved to an irredentist
Italia irredenta
Italian irredentism was an Italian Irredentist movement that aimed at the unification of all ethnically Italian peoples....
position (and came to be expelled from the PSI after arguing for Italy to join the Entente Powers
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
). Despite the fact that he was a pacifist in June 1918 he strongly supported the Italian Army that was fighting the Battle of Solstizio
Battle of the Piave River
The Battle of the Piave River , known in Italy as Battaglia del Solstizio , Battaglia di Mezzo Giugno , or Seconda Battaglia del Piave , was a decisive victory for the Italian Army during World War...
.
Opposition to Fascism
Following World War I, Mussolini created the paramilitaryParamilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
Fasci Italiani di Combattimento
Fasci Italiani di Combattimento
The Fasci Italiani di Combattimento were an Italian fascio organization, created by Benito Mussolini in 1919. After World War I had ended, he reconstituted the Milan fascio, renaming it Fasci Italiani di Combattimento. In 1921, this fascio would be transformed into the Partito Nazionale Fascista,...
, and then the National Fascist Party
National Fascist Party
The National Fascist Party was an Italian political party, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of fascism...
which came to power in 1922 (after its March on Rome
March on Rome
The March on Rome was a march by which Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party came to power in the Kingdom of Italy...
). Filippo Turati and Anna Kulischov, who knew Mussolini well, were major opponents of Fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
, and lived under constant surveillance and threats. In a series of prescient speeches, Turati argued that the new revolutionary program adopted by the PSI in 1919 would lead to disaster, and he advocated political alliances with other opponents of Fascism. This policy was rejected and the PSI split in 1921, with the formation of the Italian Communist Party
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
. In 1922, when Turati's group was expelled and established a new group, the United Socialist Party
United Socialist Party (Italy, 1922–1930)
The United Socialist Party was a social-democratic political party in Italy, active from 1922 to 1930....
(PSU). In 1924, Turati's disciple and Secretary of the PSU, Giacomo Matteotti
Giacomo Matteotti
Giacomo Matteotti was an Italian socialist politician. On 30 May 1924, he openly spoke in the Italian Parliament alleging the Fascists committed fraud in the recently held elections, and denounced the violence they used to gain votes...
, was assassinated by Mussolini's Ceka; this seminal event prompted Mussolini to formalize his dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
between 1925 and 1926.
In 1926, Turati fled Italy in a dramatic escape to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
- aided by Carlo Rosselli
Carlo Rosselli
Carlo Rosselli was an Italian political leader, journalist, historian and anti-fascist activist, first in Italy then abroad...
, Ferruccio Parri
Ferruccio Parri
Ferruccio Parri was an Italian partisan and politician who served as the 43rd Prime Minister of Italy for several months in 1945. During the resistance he was known as Maurizio.-Biography:...
and future president of the Italian republic Sandro Pertini. In Paris, he was the soul of the non-Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
anti-Fascist
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
resistance, traveling across Europe and alerting democrats to the Fascist danger - which he saw as a phenomenon with far-reaching consequences. He died in French capital in March, 1932.
After World War II, Turati's remains were transferred after to Milan's Cimitero Monumentale
Cimitero Monumentale di Milano
The Cimitero Monumentale in Milan, Italy is a very large cemetery, noted for its abundance of highly artistic and often imposing tombs.It was designed by the architect Carlo Maciachini...
, where he is buried next to Anna Kulischov.