Milan

1900: The assassination of King Umberto I of Italy

A short account of the assassination of King Umberto I of Italy in revenge for the brutal suppression of a workers' demonstration in Milan which left hundreds dead.

See also our biography of Gaetano Bresci

Nokia occupation, Milan, 2002

Prols leaflet that was distributed in Bochum, Germany and Milan, Italy to Nokia-workers in March 2002 after Nokia workers occupied their plant and blocked railways against outsourcing.

Documents on cleaners' strikes in Paris and Milan, 2002

Leaflets and information on strikes of cleaning workers in Paris and Milan.

Fiat - call centre report from Milano, Italy, 2002

Report from October 2002 about work, resistance and the possibilities for struggle in a Milan call centre.

At the beginning everything looks really nice when you enter Fiat's call centre in Milan. Lots of space, multi-coloured cubicle walls and little flags, lots of young people sitting in front of large monitors, wandering around or relaxing and smoking in the corner by the vending machines. They speak all kinds of languages: Italian, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Polish...

Pinelli, Giuseppe “Pino”, 1928-1969

A short biography of Giuseppe Pinelli, anarchist railway worker who was murdered by police in the Strategy of Tension. He was immortalised in Dario Fo's play Accidental Death of an Anarchist.

Giuseppe Pinelli, nicknamed Pino
Born 21 October 1928 – Milan, Italy, died 15 December 1969 – Milan, Italy

Valpreda, Pietro, 1933-2002

Pietro Valpreda, centre, on a demonstration in Milan, 1969

A short biography of the anarchist militant and dancer Pietro Valpreda who was caught up in the Strategy of Tension.

Pietro Valpreda was born in Milan in 1933. At the beginning of the 1960s he began to frequent anarchist circles in Milan and Rome. He worked as a dancer in theatrical reviews.

1971: Via Tibaldi occupation

A short history of an occupation of empty housing in Italy by workers who had inadequate accomodation. Their direct action and solidarity forced the council to house hundreds of people.

The occupation at Via Tibaldi was a great step forward for the tenants’ and homeless movement in Italy. A whole neighbourhood was involved in it : factories, schools, housing projects took part in the organising of the struggle. There was a victory at Via Tibaldi because everyone there was fully aware

1971: The Quarto Oggiaro occupation

A short history of a militant mass occupation of empty housing in Milan, Italy, 1971 which pressured the government to give in and provide the participating families with housing.

Quarto Oggiaro is a working class quarter of Milan in northern Italy. Many Italians had been forced to leave the poverty of the south to try to find work in the industrialised north, and there found pay low. Housing was scarce, and where it did exist much was wretchedly sub-standard.

Take over the city - Community struggle in Italy, 1973

Excellent article from Lotta Continua about different struggles of workers in their local areas. It covers self-reduction of prices, squatting and more.

Translated and edited by Ernest Dowson
Radical America, Vol.7 no.2, March-April 1973

Translator's Preface