International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

Anarchism in Italy has its origins in the second half of the nineteenth century in the context of the political radicalism of intellectuals and popular leaders who struggled for national liberation and a republican government, such as Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882) and Carlo Pisacane (1818–1857). From 1864 on, the influence of Mikhail Bakunin was decisive in the creation of a radical and autonomous political doctrine. Together with initial industrialization in the urban centers of the center and north of the country, there was an important growth in workers' associations (società operate), often organized by profession, in which anarchism found supporters. In the south of the country, the majority of workers were landless peasants who, led by an enlightened elite, had engaged in several failed insurrections. This activity was soon channeled into continuous guerilla actions often mixing brigandage with social protest. In 1869, under the influence of Bakunin, Carlo Gambuzzi and Stefano Caporosso founded the first anarchist journal, Eguaglianza (Equality), in Naples, edited by Michelangelo Statuti. The first Italian anarchist organizations, such as the Federazione Operaia Napoletana (1874), emerged in the south. There, Bakunin found important supporters and natural leaders such as Carlo Cafiero (1846–1892) and Errico Malatesta (1853–1932). When anarchist tendencies spread to the north, ... log in or subscribe to read full text