Brigate Rosse

In the aftermath of the Second World War Italy had the largest communist party of any Western European nation. With the extreme left of the political spectrum barred from participation in government, industrial and political strife were commonplace in the Italy of the 1960s, frequently resulting in violent clashes between the police and left-wing activists. Lurking in the background, neo-fascists sought to stoke the flames with a Series of murderous bombings designed to provoke a return to an authoritarian state.

From this grew the Brigate Rosse – the Red Brigade – organising themselves following the example of the Latin American urban guerrilla movements. The Brigate Rosse emerged in Trento in 1970, though their early activities were troubled by infighting between extremist and moderate wings of the movement.