Indiani Metropolitani
Encyclopedia
Indiani Metropolitani were a small faction active in the Italian far-left protest movement during 1976 and 1977, in the so called "Years Of Lead".
In Italy
the 1968 student movement violently clashed with the police, and signalled the period known as "Years Of Lead" in Italy. Throughout the 1970s Italy was the theatre of terrorism and a climate of social and political upheaval. While the Red Brigades
(Brigate Rosse) were a Marxist-Leninist terrorist group, Autonomia was a loose association of Marxists and anarchists. A figurehead was the philosopher Antonio Negri
, considered the theorist of the movement, later imprisoned for suspected links with the Red Brigades and accused of having a moral responsibility for the violence associated with the Autonomists.
The apex of the movement took place in 1976 and 1977, and manifested itself with acts of urban guerrilla, occupations of universities, high schools and factories. The Indiani Metropolitani were the so called creative wing of the movement. Its adherents wore face-paint like the war-paint of
Native Americans
and dressed like hippies. The emphasis was on "stare insieme" (be together), spontaneity and the arts, especially music. The group was active in Rome
, during the occupation of the university La Sapienza in 1977. The most famous episode of the period was the protest against a speech of left-wing union leader Luciano Lama, which ended in a riot with Lama and his supporters chased away. The Minister of The Interior Francesco Cossiga
banned all demonstrations in Rome, but the ban was broken by the Radical Party
and their demonstration ended in serious clashes between Autonomists and police for a whole day on March 12 and a high school student, Giorgiana Masi, was killed. In Bologna
, where the Autonomists had a stronghold, tanks occupied the city following the killing of Francesco Lorusso by police which caused demonstrations and more guerrilla warfare by the Autonomists.
and LSD
. The Indiani Metropolitani disappeared with the end of the 1970s and are today remembered as a picturesque aspect of the protests of those years and the "Years Of Lead" in Italy.
Background
The Italian protest movement was born during the wave of protest in 1968, at the forefront of which were students, like at University Of Berkeley in California, and students and workers as in Paris in May 1968.In Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
the 1968 student movement violently clashed with the police, and signalled the period known as "Years Of Lead" in Italy. Throughout the 1970s Italy was the theatre of terrorism and a climate of social and political upheaval. While the Red Brigades
Red Brigades
The Red Brigades was a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organisation, based in Italy, which was responsible for numerous violent incidents, assassinations, and robberies during the so-called "Years of Lead"...
(Brigate Rosse) were a Marxist-Leninist terrorist group, Autonomia was a loose association of Marxists and anarchists. A figurehead was the philosopher Antonio Negri
Antonio Negri
Antonio Negri is an Italian Marxist sociologist and political philosopher.Negri is best-known for his co-authorship of Empire, and secondarily for his work on Spinoza. Born in Padua, he became a political philosophy professor in his hometown university...
, considered the theorist of the movement, later imprisoned for suspected links with the Red Brigades and accused of having a moral responsibility for the violence associated with the Autonomists.
The apex of the movement took place in 1976 and 1977, and manifested itself with acts of urban guerrilla, occupations of universities, high schools and factories. The Indiani Metropolitani were the so called creative wing of the movement. Its adherents wore face-paint like the war-paint of
Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
and dressed like hippies. The emphasis was on "stare insieme" (be together), spontaneity and the arts, especially music. The group was active in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, during the occupation of the university La Sapienza in 1977. The most famous episode of the period was the protest against a speech of left-wing union leader Luciano Lama, which ended in a riot with Lama and his supporters chased away. The Minister of The Interior Francesco Cossiga
Francesco Cossiga
Francesco Cossiga was an Italian politician, the 43rd Prime Minister and the eighth President of the Italian Republic. He was also a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sassari....
banned all demonstrations in Rome, but the ban was broken by the Radical Party
Radical Party
-France:*Radical Party *Radical Party of the Left -Italy:*Radical Party *Radical Party *Italian Radicals *Radicals of the Left -Luxembourg:*Radical Party...
and their demonstration ended in serious clashes between Autonomists and police for a whole day on March 12 and a high school student, Giorgiana Masi, was killed. In Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, where the Autonomists had a stronghold, tanks occupied the city following the killing of Francesco Lorusso by police which caused demonstrations and more guerrilla warfare by the Autonomists.
End of the movement
Many of them, as the movement was on the wane, became active in the Centri Sociali, usually squatted premises to create a "free" space for young people to socialize and sponsor music and other artistic events. Many sit-ins, seminars and debates were also among the activities of these groups. The character of the Indiani Metropolitani was not just political, but included a rebellion against bourgeois values compounded by the clash of parents and adolescents - the so called generation gap - and the adoption of different attitudes towards sexuality, social and political issues. Politically the Indiani might be described as anarchists, non-violent by principle but who retaliated in self-defence. The group included both individualist-anarchists and those of a collective persuasion. The Indiani listened to Rock music and abided by the then common drug-culture through the use mainly of cannabisCannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
and LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
. The Indiani Metropolitani disappeared with the end of the 1970s and are today remembered as a picturesque aspect of the protests of those years and the "Years Of Lead" in Italy.
Sources
- Paul Ginsborg, A History Of Contemporary Italy 1943-1988, Penguin, London, 1990.
- Denis Mack Smith Storia D'Italia dal 1861 al 1977, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1997.
- Armed Struggle In Italy 1976-1978, Elephant Editions, London, 1990.
- Gianfranco Sanguineti, On Terrorism And The State, Aldgate Press, London, 1982.