Show notes
Where did we leave off? At the explosion of that bomb in Milan that marked the end of the "innocent" and "fabulous" sixties. A new decade was beginning, and the future had changed hands. The seventies, the second volume of an Italian story that will continue to the present day, still live today in memory and turmoil: alongside notable and rapid political changes (the rise of the PCI) and social changes (the laws on abortion and divorce, the closure of asylums, and conscientious objection), they saw a dramatic violent turn, known as the "years of lead." Right-wing extremism planted bombs in trains, stations, universities, and prepared numerous coups; criminal groups – the Banda della Magliana, Cosa Nostra, P2, and the then-unknown 'ndrangheta – associated with power and did the "dirty work," while a part of the revolutionary left chose the path of armed struggle with unexpected, bloody results that were unprecedented in Europe. Moreover, in an unprecedented degeneration of civil life, 387 people were kidnapped, and with the ransom money, the Anonima sequestri shaped "the model of development" of the country. The seventies saw us demonstrating alongside Berlinguer, Pannella, Franca Rame, and Dario Fo, attending too many civil funerals, marching for women's rights and against war, dancing to Raffaella Carrà's Tuca Tuca, growing up reading Elsa Morante's La storia, singing to the tunes of Rino Gaetano, Dalla, and De Gregori. In cinema, we laughed bitterly with Fantozzi; Gian Maria Volonté was the face of commitment; Fellini won an Oscar with Amarcord; and the crude jokes of Amici miei were emulated in train stations. Work began to dwindle; students started to think about their future; and the country was shaken by the terror of massacres, kidnappings, and bombs: the world seemed divided between those who wanted to change everything and those who defended the old order with all their might. Gradually, hope gave way to disillusionment: the dream of revolution collided with violence in the streets. Pier Paolo Pasolini and Peppino Impastato were gone; many young people were killed; Aldo Moro was abandoned and left to die... The seventies ended with a sense that something had broken, that that possible future had slipped away forever. Yet it was precisely then that we learned what it means to fight, love, and believe in a different world, at least for a while. A great tale of history and culture, of a violent and tragic Italy, joyful, crazy, and mysterious. An Italy that would never be the same again