Gerardo Chiaromonte
Encyclopedia
Gerardo Chiaromonte was an Italian Communist
politician, journalist and writer.
into a poor family from Roccanova
, a small village in the province of Potenza
. After obtaining a degree in engineering he moved to Milan in 1945 and became involved in the Italian resistance movement
, a partisan
force against the German occupation and remaining Italian Fascist
forces of the Italian Social Republic
(RSI) during World War II
.
In 1945 he became a member of the Italian Communist Party
(Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI). Chiaromonte’s political ideas were somewhat moderate in the context of the PCI. He belonged to the so-called "meliorist wing
" (corrente migliorista) of the party, whose members notably included Giorgio Napolitano
, Giorgio Amendola
, Nilde Iotti and Emanuele Macaluso. The term migliorista (from migliore, Italian for "better") was coined with a slightly mocking intent. In 1991 he supported the transformation of the PCI in the Democratic Party of the Left
(Partito democratico della Sinistra, PDS).
In 1963 he was elected in the Italian Chamber of Deputies
and in 1968 for the Italian Senate
. He remained a senator until his death in 1993, heading the Communist group in the Senate from 1983-1986. From 1986-1988 he was the director of the party's newspaper l'Unità
.
In March 1988, Chiaromonte became the president of the Antimafia Commission
. The Commission studied the connections between the four Mafia-type organizations and the links between the Mafia and secret Masonic lodges. It lobbied for the introduction of new legislation such as the reform of the Rognoni-La Torre law whereby asset seizure and confiscation provisions were applicable to other forms of criminal association including drug trafficking, extortion
and usury
among others.
He died at Vico Equense
in 1993.
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...
politician, journalist and writer.
Biography
He was born in NaplesNaples
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...
into a poor family from Roccanova
Roccanova
Roccanova is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata....
, a small village in the province of Potenza
Province of Potenza
The Province of Potenza is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Potenza.-Geography:It has an area of 6,545 km² and a total population of 387,107 . There are 100 comuni in the province .-History:In 272 B.C. the province was conquered by the Greek army...
. After obtaining a degree in engineering he moved to Milan in 1945 and became involved in the Italian resistance movement
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
, a partisan
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
force against the German occupation and remaining Italian Fascist
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...
forces of the Italian Social Republic
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
(RSI) during 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...
.
In 1945 he became a member 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...
(Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI). Chiaromonte’s political ideas were somewhat moderate in the context of the PCI. He belonged to the so-called "meliorist wing
Meliorism (politics)
Meliorism was a wing of the Italian Communist Party. Its leader was Giorgio Napolitano, and counted among its number Gerardo Chiaromonte and Emanuele Macaluso...
" (corrente migliorista) of the party, whose members notably included Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to...
, Giorgio Amendola
Giorgio Amendola
Giorgio Amendola was an Italian writer and politician.Born in Rome in 1907, he was the son of Lithuanian intellectual Eva Kuhn and Giovanni Amendola, a liberal anti-fascist who died in 1926 in Cannes after having been attacked by killers hired by Benito Mussolini...
, Nilde Iotti and Emanuele Macaluso. The term migliorista (from migliore, Italian for "better") was coined with a slightly mocking intent. In 1991 he supported the transformation of the PCI in the Democratic Party of the Left
Democratic Party of the Left
The Democratic Party of the Left was a post-communist, democratic socialist political party in Italy.-History:...
(Partito democratico della Sinistra, PDS).
In 1963 he was elected in the Italian Chamber of Deputies
Italian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
and in 1968 for the Italian Senate
Italian Senate
The Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
. He remained a senator until his death in 1993, heading the Communist group in the Senate from 1983-1986. From 1986-1988 he was the director of the party's newspaper l'Unità
L'Unità
l'Unità is an Italian left-wing newspaper, originally founded as official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party.-History:L'Unità was founded by Antonio Gramsci on 12 February 1924, as the newspaper of workers and peasants, the official newspaper of Italian Communist Party : it was printed in...
.
In March 1988, Chiaromonte became the president of the Antimafia Commission
Antimafia Commission
The Italian Antimafia Commission is a bicameral commission of the Italian Parliament, composed of members from the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate . The Antimafia Commission is a commission of inquiry into, initially, the “phenomenon of the Mafia”...
. The Commission studied the connections between the four Mafia-type organizations and the links between the Mafia and secret Masonic lodges. It lobbied for the introduction of new legislation such as the reform of the Rognoni-La Torre law whereby asset seizure and confiscation provisions were applicable to other forms of criminal association including drug trafficking, extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
and usury
Usury
Usury Originally, when the charging of interest was still banned by Christian churches, usury simply meant the charging of interest at any rate . In countries where the charging of interest became acceptable, the term came to be used for interest above the rate allowed by law...
among others.
He died at Vico Equense
Vico Equense
Vico Equense is a coastal town and comune in the province of Naples, in the Campania region of southern Italy.-Geography:Vico Equense is part of the greater Bay of Naples metropolitan area and is a popular destination for tourists...
in 1993.
External links
- Parlamentary speeches by Gerardo Chiaromonte
- Istituto Gerardo Chiaromonte