Italy 1969

Synopsis

The fall of 1969 in Italy was popularly called "hot autumn" (or in Italian, autunno caldo). During this time severe conflicts between workers and the capitalists (and the government) culminated in a period of labor militancy that involved Italian workers, students, the unemployed, and the general citizenry. Tensions over demands from management, built up during the preceding two years, had peaked at this time, leading to a high degree of worker unrest. Workers increasingly violated no-strike contract clauses, chanting their slogan: "Better Wages, Shorter Hours."

At the same time, student unrest paralleled the violence of Italian workers. The situation was further complicated by a government that was split between its three major parties: the coalition of the center-left Christian-Democrat Party (DC or Democrazia Cristiana); the left-wing Italian Socialist Party (PSI or Partito Socialista Italiano); and the Italian Communist Party (PCI or Partito Communista Italiano). In...