Reggio revolt

Protest in Reggio Calabria exploded in July 1970 when the smaller town of Catanzaro (with a population of 82,000 against 160,000 in Reggio) was chosen as the regional capital of Calabria. The people of Reggio blamed their rivals' success on "the Red Barons" in Rome, a group of influential centre-left Calabrian politicians from Cosenza and Catanzaro, including Deputy Prime Minister Giacomo Mancini. A force of 5,000 armed police and Carabinieri agents was moved into the area. The national government ordered state-owned RAI TV not to report on the insurrection. Nevertheless, the revolt steadily picked up steam and sympathy. Drawn out road and railway blockades damaged the entire country. Strikes, barricades and wrecked railway tracks forced trains from the north of Italy to halt two hours short of Reggio. Italy's main north-south highway, the Autostrada del Sole (Highway of the Sun), was closed off. When the port of Reggio was blocked, hundreds of lorries and railroad freight cars were forced to remain on the other side of the Straits of Messina. ==Neo-fascists taking over==

The revolt was taken over by young neo-fascists of the Italian Social Movement (Movimento Sociale Italiano, MSI) allegedly backed by the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type criminal organisation based in Calabria, the De Stefano 'ndrina in particular. Francesco Franco, a trade union leader from the National Italian Workers' Union (CISNAL) close to the neo-fascist movement became the informal leader of the rebel Action Committee and of the revolt. "Boia chi molla" (Death to him who gives up) was the right-wing rallying cry during the revolt. Most of the Italian press labeled the demonstrators fascists and hooligans against the center‐left Government in Rome; however, according to Time, the revolt cut across class barriers, quoting Reggio's mayor at the time, Pietro Battaglia, who declared that it was a "citizens' revolt". By their own admission, many of the urban-guerilla style actions during the revolt were coordinated and led by members of National Vanguard. On 17 September 1970, Franco was arrested along with other leaders of the revolt on charges of incitement in a police sweep that targeted some 100 people. The news about the arrest provoked violent reactions, in particular in the dilapidated Sbarre suburb. Two armories were stormed and about five hundred people attacked the police station. At least 6,000 police men were deployed from many parts of Italy to try to stop the violence. Franco was released on 23 December 1970. After three police officers were shot and wounded in October 1970, Prime Minister Emilio Colombo decided to tackle the conflict. Colombo warned that the Government would resort to force to restore order if necessary. Some 4,500 soldiers were sent to Reggio Calabria; it was the Italian Army's first assignment to crush civil disorder in 25 years. The decision on the location of Calabria's government was declared "provisional" and an assurance was given that the issue would be discussed in the Italian parliament for a final decision. Tensions subsided for a while, but new protests and violence broke out in January 1971 when the Parliament decided that the regional assembly had to designate the capital of Calabria. ==End of the conflict==

On 31 January 1971, four leaders of the rebel Action Committee were arrested on charges for instigating violence. In February 1971, journalist Oriana Fallaci had been able to interview the fugitive Franco for ''L'Europeo''. He explained that many potentially leftist youths "today are fascists simply because they believe that the battle of Reggio is interpreted fairly only by the fascists." The revolt defies any attempt to schematic classification. Issues of employment (the capital meant safe jobs in an economically depressed city) and local pride intermingled; it was mainly a matter of identity. (relevant was also the role of the militant neo-fascist movement National Vanguard) and led to unexpected electoral fortunes for the Italian Social Movement at the Italian general election in May 1972, when Franco was elected senator. The neo-fascists benefitted, because the Christian Democrats were divided, while the city was one of its fiefdoms, and the Italian Communist Party (PCI) supported the suppression of the riots. ==Aftermath==

In October 1972, the main left wing labour unions led by the Italian General Confederation of Labour organized a conference in Reggio to regain their influence. Twenty trains were chartered to bring workers from northern and central Italy. On one of the trains full of workers and trade unionists a bomb exploded leaving five injured. Two other bombs burst on the rails in the vicinity of Lamezia Terme, while other unexploded bombs were found along the same railway line. Subsequent judicial investigations of charges of provocation and terrorism ended with his acquittal. The steelworks was never built, ==See also==