Years of Lead (Italy)

Years Of Lead (Italy)

The Years of Lead was a period of socio-political turmoil in Italy that lasted from the late 1960s into the early 1980s. This period was marked by a wave of terrorism, initially called "Opposing Extremisms" (Opposti Estremismi) and later renamed as the "Years of Lead" (Anni di piombo). Among the possible origins of the name are a reference to the vast number of bullets fired, or the 1981 film Marianne and Juliane by Margarethe von Trotta, of which Italian title is Anni di piombo.

There was widespread social conflict and unprecedented acts of terrorism carried out by both right- and left-wing paramilitary groups. An attempt to integrate the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI) into the Tambroni government led to rioting and was short-lived. The Christian Democrats (DC) were instrumental in the Socialist party gaining power in the 1960s and they created a coalition. The assassination of the Christian Democratic (DC) leader Aldo Moro in 1978 ended the strategy of historic compromise between the DC and the Italian Communist Party (PCI). The assassination was carried out by the Red Brigades, then led by Mario Moretti. Between 1969 and 1981, nearly 2,000 murders were attributed to political violence in the form of bombings, assassinations, and street warfare between rival militant factions. Although political violence has decreased substantially in Italy since that time, instances of sporadic violent crimes continue because of the re-emergence of anti-immigrant, neo-fascist, and militant communist groups.

The left-wing autonomist movement lasted from 1968 until the end of the 1970s. The "years of lead" began with the shooting death of the policeman Antonio Annarumma in 1969 and the Piazza Fontana bombing. These events are attributed to the far-right, the far-left, and the secret services, depending on the source.