— Ch. 1 · The Livorno Split —
Italian Communist Party.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
On the 21st of January 1921, a small group of men gathered in Livorno to forge a new political entity. They stood apart from the Italian Socialist Party after refusing to expel reformist members as demanded by the Communist International. Amadeo Bordiga emerged as the secretary of this new Communist Party of Italy. Antonio Gramsci and Nicola Bombacci led other factions within the assembly. The party secured 4.6% of the vote in that year's general election. It held fifteen seats in the Chamber of Deputies. This was an active yet small faction on the Italian left. Internationally, it remained under Soviet direction. The organization adopted a program based on Lenin's vision for the Russian Communist Party. Ten points outlined their strategy, beginning with the catastrophic nature of capitalism. The final point called for the extinction of the state.
Underground And Resistance
Fascist authorities outlawed the party during the regime of Benito Mussolini. More than three quarters of all political prisoners between 1926 and 1943 were communists. The organization maintained a clandestine network despite systematic repression. Members distributed propaganda leaflets and newspapers while infiltrating fascist unions. In 1935, the party led a campaign against the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. After the fall of Fascism on the 25th of July 1943, the PCI returned to legal status. Palmiro Togliatti had returned from eighteen years of exile just one month prior. He agreed to cooperate with King Victor Emmanuel III and Marshal Pietro Badoglio. The party took part in every government from June 1944 to May 1947. Their contribution to the new democratic constitution proved decisive. The Garibaldi Brigades became among the most numerous partisan forces. During the national liberation, the majority of partisans were communists.