George H. Newth

30/10/14

The rise and fall of MARP – A brief history of the

movement

1) From the Declaration of Chivasso to MARP

Between 1945-50 a group known as il Gruppo Subalpino dell’Associazione

Regionale Italiana (ARI) was active in Italian politics developing a

complex study into the concept of the Regional body of government.

Amongst the members of the ARI was an ex-member of the PNF, Michele

Rosboch who was later to become a key player in Piedmontese

regionalist politics. Having an ex-fascist in the ranks of the ARI

was highly paradoxical due to the fact that it was a legacy of the

Resistance and was carrying forward many of the ideals of a group of

Alpine based partisans who had signed the Dichiarazione dei diritti

all’autonomia delle popolazioni Alpine.1 This declaration, signed in Chivasso,

had a strongly Piedmontese element to it as many of the leading

signatories were partisans from the Valli Valdesi who were

determined to gain greater regional autonomy for their Piedmontese

valley from the central government. They were in many ways carrying

forward similar proposals to those of the Piedmontese based

parliamentary group La Permanente who in the 1860s had suggested

dividing regions into districts and a decentralisation of power.2

1 G.Peyronel. La dichiarazione dei rappresentanti delle popolazione alpine al convegno di chivasso il 19 dicembre 1943. Estratto dalla rassegna ‘il Movimento di liberazione in Italia’. Milano Luglio 19492 “La Permanente ed il Corriere Mercantile” in Gazzetta Piemontese, Anno II, Num. 81, Saturday 21st March, 1868. http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,1/articleid,1280_01_1868_0081_0001_18781332/anews,true/G.Peyronel. La dichiarazione dei rappresentanti delle popolazione alpine al convegno di chivasso il 19 dicembre 1943. Cit. Milano Luglio 1949

The first elections of the newly established republic in June

1946 saw the ARI busy supporting the candidature of various

candidates in various party lists in return of the promise of

inserting regional statutes in the constitution. Initially, the

Constitution looked promising in terms of regional autonomy with

Article 23 stating that “every region has a statute which, in harmony

with the constitution and with the laws of the republic stabilises

the relative norms for the internal organisation of the region” and

also Article 131 which stated that Piedmont was to be one of 20

regions to be established with autonomous statutes, thus recognising

it officially as a region. It is easy, therefore, to see how the ARI

saw that it had achieved its goal and was, subsequently, dissolved

by its members.3 The reality, however, was quite different with

only 5 regions being awarded a ‘special statute’ (Valle D’Aosta,

Sicily, Sardinia, Trentino Alto-Adige and later in 1963 Friuli

Venezia Giulia) and the other 15 regions including Piedmont being

given no formal recognition. The Constitution had not, therefore,

been fully respected by the ruling parties and one person who was

keen to point this out was a young, ambitious political activist,

Enrico Villarboito who attempted to revive the Piedmontese

autonomist ideals of the ARI and bring them from the Alps into the

cities.

2) MARP is born

3 “Gli Articoli della Costituzione che non si vogliono ricordare” Piemonte Nuovo 23rd March 1956, Istituto piemontese per la storia della resistenza e della società contemporaneaSee also. La costituzione Italiana. Titolo V. Articoli 114-133

http://www.senato.it/documenti/repository/relazioni/libreria/Costituzione_anastatic

a.pdf

For the most up to date version in English, please refer to

https://www.senato.it/documenti/repository/istituzione/costituzione_inglese.pdf

On 25th July 1955 Villarboito signed into life il Movimento per

l’Autonomia Regionale Piemontese (MARP).4 Villarboito was determined

to stir up an autonomist vote in Piedmont by making the Piedmontese

electorate aware of the regional obligation written into the

constitution and gave maximum attention to the importance of the

problems of Piedmont in general and Turin in particular.5 MARP was

conceived as a cross-party movement which was open to anyone who was

a citizen with residence permanent in Piedmont, whatever their

political persuasion as long as they were over 18 years of age6.

This is demonstrated by a meeting with took place on 17th March 1956

when “17 people participated of various political loyalties (DC,

Liberal, Monarchists, Nenni Socialists and Communists) of which 14

had at the end of the meeting adhered to the movement.7” The scope

of the movement was to obtain autonomy for the Piedmontese Region,

within the confines of the unity of the Italian State and on the

basis of the principles fixed by the Constitution. The movement

proposed to collect at least 50,000 signatures which they would then

send to parliament as part of a project to create a law for the

creation of the Regional body in Piedmont. 8 During its first press

conference, MARP stated that its main purpose lay in “defending the

interests of Piedmont, reducing unproductive spending, bureaucratic

reform and decentralisation”.9 Aside from the key issue of regional

autonomy, the initial questions raised were also of the question of

4 Statuto MARP. Archivio di Stato Torino. Cat.A3A. 25th July 1955.5 “Movimento Autonomia Regionale Piemontese – MARP - Al Sig. Capo Ufficio Politico.Sede M.llo De Filippi.”. Questura di Torino. Archivio di Stato, Torino, Cat.A3A. 25th July 1955. 10 Novembre 1955.

6 “Articolo 5”, Statuto MARP. Archivio di Stato Torino. Cat.A3A. 25th July 1955.7 Questura di Cuneo, Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A, 27 March 1956

8 “Movimento Autonomia Regionale Piemontese – Con Sede in via Bava no.5” Questura di Torino, – Con Sede in via Bava No. 5. Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 006/617/10. 29 Agosto 1955

railway links, the motorway between Piedmont, Liguria and Lombardy

and the lines of communication between Piedmont, Switzerland and

France.10

3)The 1956 elections – a breakthrough

Following the growth in popularity of the movement, MARP

decided to stand in the council elections on the 28th June 1956. The

results must have come as a surprise even to the greatest optimists

within its ranks as on its first electoral outing MARP received

5.79% of the vote in Turin electing, therefore, 4 councillors, of

which two were to become assessors. It is important to remember that

this was only in Turin as this was the Movement for Piedmontese

Regional Autonomy and its levels of success should not be measured

in the regional capital alone. Later in the year, in Rivara, MARP

would present its own list and obtain 113 of the 453 valid votes,

seeing 3 councillors elected. Furthermore, in Vercelli in 1957 three

councillors in the comune and one in the administration of the

province were elected from a MARP list.11 A further success of MARP

was the election of Ferreo Emilio Capo as the first MARP mayor of

Pinerolo in 1957, with this area of Piedmont already having elected

MARP councillors the previous year.12 Following these successes,

MARP intensified its activity by collaborating with the Christian9 “Il MARP. Chi sono e cosa vogliono” La Stampa Friday 1 June 1956,http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,2/articleid,0059_01_1956_0127_0002_14019902/(La Stampa 27 Aprile 1956).10 Le Origini del MARP e gli uomini che lo rappresentano, Appunto del Questore di Torino. Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 24 Gennaio. 195811 “Magnifica affermazione del MARP nelle recenti elezioni amministrative Vercellesi” Piemonte Nuovo Anno II. No.21, 17th November, 1957, Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino. Giorno II. 486

12“Ferreo Emilio Capo del Comune di Praly.- Il Primo Sindaco Marpista – La nommina hasuscitato in tutta la zona di Pinerolo il più vivo gradimento”. ” Piemonte Nuovo. Anno II. No.16. 1st September 1957, Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino. Giorno II. 486

Democrat-led regional council in both Turin and Pinerolo, while

presenting itself also from time to time in the various

administrative elections in opposition to the DC and bringing 24% of

the votes to the comune of Cirie.13 Such successes meant that MARP’s

representatives were instrumental in the formation of the council

administrations in various important Piedmontese centres.14 When

this movement was started by Villarboito two years previously, such

a level of success was unthinkable. To highlight this, it is

interesting to look at the police commissioner’s notes that “as far

as any future developments are concerned, this movement surely

cannot have any due to lack of financial backing or of any

significant followers.15 However, from the date when these words left

his pen to the results of the council elections in 1956, certain

events transpired within the movement which made it much more

appealing to the Piedmontese public. The first of these must be seen

in the internal power struggle in the new movement which saw the

removal of an idealistic, enthusiastic but essentially ineffective

leader and his replacement with a ruthlessly pragmatic committee.

4) Reasons for success

i) The removal of Enrico Villarboito from the leadership

Enrico Villarboito was one of the three principal signatories

of the MARP Statute in 1955. The other two were his close friends

and collaborators Mario Beinatti and Franco Laini.16 Villarboito’s13 “Le origini del MARP e gli uomini che lo rappresentano”. Appunto del Questore di Torino.Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A 24 Gennaio 1958

14 Ibid.

15“Movimento Autonomia Regionale Piemontese – Con Sede in via Bava no.5” Questura di Torino, – Con Sede in via Bava No. 5. Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 006/617/10. 29 Agosto 1955

16 Statuto MARP: Archivio di Stato Torino. Cit.

desire to stamp his own name and authority on MARP is not only

confirmed by police reports from the period, but also evident from

one of the first membership cards of MARP which contained his image

and stated that rather than being a member of the movement, one

could be a collaborator of Villarboito, the supposedly sole founder

and ideologue behind the movement.

Unfortunately for Villarboito, his ambition and idealism

outweighed his ability as a politician. This can be demonstrated by

the fact that he had in 1951, once again accompanied by his friends

Beinatti and Laini, given life to a party entitled Volontà

Nazionale. Presenting himself as a candidate with the PVN had been a

disappointing experience for the young Villarbotio and his party

failed to return a single candidate from their list due to “an

inconsistent political programme and the negative intellectual and

moral qualities of its key exponents”. In spite of being keen to run

again with his new movement MARP Torino, 10 Novembre 1955, his

chances of success again here seemed slim as he was described as

being “lacking in any cultural or political preparation and didn’t

inspire any public faith due to his poor public speaking and his

opportunistic character”. 17 Moreover, far from being a stabilising

influence as leader, Villarboito was described as “an unsettled and

rowdy element of the movement…who lacked in any cultural or

political preparation whatsoever and, therefore, fails to win any

public trust.”18

By 1955, the movement had attracted the membership of Colonel

Achille Baricco, Germano Benzi, Mario Vezzani and Franco Bruno.

Villarboito was to meet his political nemesis in Bruno, cited as an

active member of the Turin PNF prior to the war and after the war a

similarly ambitious and young politician who had joined MARP in

1955. Like Villarboito, Bruno had also stood in the 1951 elections,

standing as a candidate for the Republican Party and like

Villarboito he had been unsuccessful in his candidacy.19 Unlike

Villarboito, however, Bruno had the ear of the aforementioned new

and highly influential members of MARP. In a meeting on 22 December

1955, this group headed by Franco Bruno threatened a complete break

with the movement unless a complete revision of the Villarboito

statute was accepted. As President, Vice President and Secretary

General of the Movement, respectively, Article 14 stated that

Villarboito, Beinatti and Laini s would remain in their positions

until the obtainment of Autonomy and reserved reserving the right to

17 “Movimento Autonomia Regionale Piemontese – MARP - Al Sig. Capo Ufficio Politico.Sede M.llo De Filippi.”. Questura di Torino. Archivio di Stato, Torino, Cat.A3A. 25th July 1955. 10 Novembre 1955.

“MARP” Questura di Torino. Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 066/617/10” 30th December1955

18 Ibid.

19 “Appunto del questore” Questura di Torino. Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat. A3A. 30th October 1956

nominate and also revoke provincial members.20 The faction stated

their opposition to this measure and Franco Bruno rallied these new

members in opposition to Villarboito’s rule and the prospect of

another electoral disaster at the hands of this volatile political

entity. 21 After lively discussion, a decision was taken by Bruno’s

faction to promote the nomination of a Committee which would

reconstitute the movement with its own constitution which on 23rd

December took precedent over the original statute created by

Villarboito.22 The direction of the movement was assumed by a

provisional committee, composed of 9 members with Baricco as its

President. From this moment onwards Villarboito was effectively

expelled from the movement as he was not amongst the key signatories

of the new constitution. The ousted leader was, however, not to give

up without a fight and was to continue to be involved in the fight

for regional autonomy as we will look at in greater detail below.

Under the new leadership, MARP began to prepare itself for the 1956

elections, something which did not sit well with some members.

ii) The politicisation of the non-party movement

The decision to participate in the elections marked a new

stage in MARP’s short history as they effectively shifted from being

a cross-party movement to a political party. This was not an easy

sell to the grass-roots of the movement who saw in MARP a group

which would pressure parties, not become one of them. MARP’s leading

exponents were to later justify taking part in the elections and

eventually the council by stating that their decision was “technical

20 “MARP” Questura di Torino. Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 066/617/10” 30th December 195521 “MARP” Questura di Torino. Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 066/617/10” 30th December 195522“Costituzione del Movimento per l’Autonomia Regionale del Piemonte” Questura di TorinoArchivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A 23rd December 1955

and not political.”23 However, the effective purge of elements loyal

to Villarboito was indeed political and was heavily linked to the

decision to stand in elections as two of the four members who

resigned due to the growing politicization of the movement were

Villarboito’s aforementioned collaborators, Mario Beinatti and

Franco Laini. The letter which explains the reasons for their

resignations stated that

“the nine components of the regional committee…

assured us that MARP would not be turned into a

political party. Today we find ourselves in front of

a much different situation. New political tendencies

have prevailed and MARP will present itself at the

elections with its own list. The undersigned do not

approve the system with which the electoral campaign

has been conducted, which in the name of electoral

opportunism has seen MARP move against all political

parties and turn itself into a new political party”.24

Those who resigned from the movement stated that whilst it was

“possible to aim for regional autonomy and belong to a political

party” it was “not desirable to divide the vote between this party

and MARP.” The letter ends with an affirmation of the faith in

regional autonomy yet the overall tone is a loss in faith with the

new leadership of the movement which consisted of a highly

23 “Perchѐ il MARP ѐ entrato nella Giunta Comunale di Torino” Piemonte Nuovo, Anno I. Numero I – 15 Settembre 1956. L.30. Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino. Giorno II. 486

24 “5 resignations from MARP” La Stampa 3-05-56. Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A

opportunistic and ambitious committee who were aiming to gain the

vote of the economic and industrial life of Piedmont.25

iii) The inclusion of ex-members of ARI and key members of

Piedmontese economic and industrial life

With Villarboito and his inner circle out of the way, the new

ruling committee were free to push the movement forward with their

own ideas. However, they understood that MARP would remain one of

the many fleeting movement of the administrative elections, if it

did not recruit some of the most well-known and influential men in

the economic and professional life of Turin.26 Particularly worth

mentioning are the three men who alongside Bruno would become

councillors after the 1956 elections. The first was the previously

mentioned ex-fascist, Dr Michele Rosboch who had significantly not

only been a member of the ARI, but was also a noted and esteemed

businessman and business consultant in Turin.27 After the war,

Rosboch had gravitated towards the Liberal Party before joining

MARP.28 He was recognised by reports at the time as the most active

of the men in MARP and the man who brought the most amounts of votes

and consensus to the movement, not only in the city and regional

environment but also outside of Piedmont. Rosboch was cited as being

responsible for bringing MARP a certain level of prestige. Elected

as councillor of Turin he held the position of assessor of Tourism,

the Alpine excavations and communication. The second councillor (and

the head of the MARP councillors) was Dr Timoteo Nobile, one of the

most active and combative men of the movement who was considered

25 Ibid.

26 “Le origini del MARP e gli uomini che lo rappresentano”. Appunto del Questore di Torino.Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A 24 Gennaio 195827Ibid28 “Appunto del Questore”, Questura di Torino Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 30 October 1956

wise and enjoyed esteem and trust amongst its members. This was also

due to his punctuality and precision in his speeches and

presentations. The third councillor was Mario Vezzani, who was

particularly significant in creating ties with “the categories of

the small businessmen, which saw in the movement of the strongest

defenders of their demands and interests. This was essential as it

was amongst this group that MARP was to receive the majority of its

funding.29 Indeed, it was Vezzani, who immediately after the

electoral result went to see the President of the Industrial Union

of Turin to ask for a donation of two million to cover the expenses

of the election campaign. In exchange, Vezzani promised that he and

the other four MARP councillors would work to work on all of the

problems which concern industry”30. In his appeals to industry and

business class of Piedmont, Vezzani was key in adding a new element

to the movement

iv) The “Poujadist” element

With its opposition to political parties, populist nature and

also tendency to attract ex-fascists with links to the old regime

such as Franco Bruno and Michele Rosboch, it is understandable that

MARP was labelled by many as a qualunquist movement.31 However, such

an analogy was at best inaccurate and at worst facile as MARP’s

ultimate objectives were different to Guglielmo Giannini’s Uomo

Qualunque movement. One of Mario Vezzani’s initial contribtions to

the movement was an article appealing directly to the Piedmontese

29 “Appunto del Questore”, Questura di Torino Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 9 November 1957

30 Ibid.

31“Appunto del Questore”, Questura di Torino Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 9 November 1957

business class in which he wrote: “Business Owners: It’s the voice

of Piedmont that is reawakening.…understand that only the Region

will be able to end to the economic, financial and moral ills which

afflict us”32 Under the leadership of the new committee the

movement, therefore, linked its appeals for regional autonomy to a

protest against high taxes and government interference in small

business affairs. In this respect, a more illuminating comparison

than that of qualunquism can be made by looking abroad to France.

Whether the leaders of MARP were conscience of it or not, the

movement was imitating Pierre Poujade’s Union de Defense Comercents et

Artesans in France which had been experiencing great success in

mobilising French small shopkeeper, businessman and artisan vote

against taxes from the central government. The Poujadism in the

movement was strongly linked to the the anti-political nature of

MARP and is shown in their pride of presenting a list of candidates

who are not professional politicians.

“They tell us that we don’t have great names in our

list. Honestly, I can’t understand what ‘big names’

mean. If we mean honest and capable people then the

affirmation is welcomed…if by big names we mean the

professional political class, then we are delighted

to confirm that in our list we have no ‘great names’

because we have willingly excluded them. If for big

names we mean the big names of finance and of capital

then we must declare that we don’t have any of them” 33

Indeed, they stated specifically that their list included “20

businessmen, 13 industrialists and business managers, 13

32 M. Vezzani “Gli utili idioti e la libertà del voto” Piemonte Nuovo 23rd March 1956, Istituto piemontese per la storia della resistenza e della società contemporanea33 “L’autonomia regionale amministrativa non potrà dividere il popolo Italiano” Piemonte Nuovo 23rd March 1956, Istituto piemontese per la storia della resistenza e della società contemporanea

professionals, 7 employees, 6 workers, 4 professors, 3 artists and 2

doctors.” MARP insisted that it was “a movement conducted by free

men who were tired of the partyocracy and the bureaucratic

centralism” of Rome34. Indeed when naming their candidates for the

upcoming elections, they note each candidates ‘real’ profession. The

list itself would seem to include a broad section of Piedmontese

society. MARP is, therefore, proud of not having ‘career

politicians’ in its ranks – something which adds to its anti-

politics credentials. Below the mock electoral card is a message to

Piedmontese voters which states “on the day of the elections, don’t

forget this emblem: it is that of a movement which contains honest

and capable people who are not tied to party interests”.

Although the label of Poujadism was refuted by MARP, the support

which it gained from small businesses seems to place it at least

partly in this category.35 Franco Bruno in order to aid his rise

within the movement had prior to the election formed an agreement

with the local DC for their political backing in return for

channelling the Poujadist vote towards the DC list. However, once he

had worked his way up the ranks of MARP, gained a group of

supporters and managed to kick out Villarboitio, he directed it on a

course which was anything but pro-Christian Democrat. On an

unofficial level, this seems to be a response to not being nominated

for the presidency of SAGAT (Societa; Anonima Gestino Aeroporto

Torini), a position which had been promised to him by Christian

Democrat Mayor AVV. Amedeo Peyron.36 However, on an official level,

34 Rosboch, M, “Perchѐ ho scelto le lista del MARP” Piemonte Nuovo 23rd March 1956, Istituto piemontese per la storia della resistenza e della società contemporanea

35‘Il MARP. Chi sono e cosa vogliono’, La Stampa, 1 June 1956 http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,2/articleid,0059_01_1956_0127_0002_14019902/36 “Appunto del Questore”, Questura di Torino Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 30 October 1956

steering MARP against the DC was about as politically convenient as

it could get for MARP’s Poujadist platform as this anti-political

element was connected to a further development in Piedmontese

regionalism which was the identification of the DC with Rome, which

in turn was identified as the corrupt central state. The DC was

viewed by MARP as the party most guilty for not implementing the

regional statutes in the constitution, therefore rendering it as

distinctly un-constitutional’. 37 The DC was described as the “face

of typical Roman administration…misgovernment, waste, illicit

favours and even corruption, careless spend, incautious in taking on

tasks and often violating parliamentary law”.38

v) A successful propaganda campaign

On 7th January 1956, several young members of MARP were seen

distributing leaflets of the movement of the movement.39 It is worth

looking at the content of this leaflet in full below:

“We are an apolitical, democratic, constructive and

national movement. Apolitical because we develop our

action in relation to organisational and regional

problems of an administrative, economic and financial

nature without interfering in particular political

ideologies. Democratic because in promoting the

implementation of Regional autonomy we are asking for

the most democratic form of public administration.

37 Ibid.

38 “L’autonomia amminstrativa non porterà nuove spese ed una nuova burocrazia” Piemonte Nuovo 23rd March 1956, Istituto piemontese per la storia della resistenza e della società contemporanea

39“Lettera al Sig. Capo Ufficio Politico ” Questura di Torino Archivio di Stato. Torino.Cat.A3A 7 Gennaio 1956

Constructive because we want public administration to

be reduced in its size and tasks. National, because

by recognising every region, the unity of the nation

is reinforced, eliminating rancour and

misunderstandings that can lead to irreparably

damaging consequences. The government should limit

its functions to national problems and leave to the

Regions the task of resolving its own problems”.40

In addition to leafletting around Piedmont, prior to the

election campaign, MARP released a newspaper entitled Piemonte Nuovo.

Initially intended to be only a ‘numero unico’, the paper was soon

published on a fortnightly basis. The first issue was, however, a

detailed piece of electoral propaganda and a call to arms to

Piedmontese against Roman centralism. The content of the newspaper

followed the line of the leaflets and continued to promote the ideas

which made the movement so successful: defence of Piedmontese

interests against the central state, controls on immigration from

other regions, tax breaks, major or direct control on fiscal policy.

It was these issues which seemed particularly sensitive to a notable

part of public opinion of Turin and other Piedmontese provinces. 41

5) MARP’S Political Discourse

40 Movimento Autonomia Regionale Piemontese Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A 7 Gennaio 1956

41 “Appunto del Questore”, Questura di Torino Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 30 October 1956

Piedmont was the “prime receiving region” of the “more than 2

million people [who] left Italy’s south’…in the two decades

following WW2””.42 The post-war period was also to see the

establishment of the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno which despite having

the intention to close the gap between North and South, by providing

funds to the South was actually to turn the South into a financial

chasm and eventually lead to what Anna Cento Bull and Mark Gilbert

have noted as a “substantially accurate” critique by the Lega Nord

that the South had “been allowed to stagnate by decades of state

handouts”.43 The 1950s opposition to the Cassa from the Piedmontese

electorate, however, was not born from a desire to protect the south

from stagnation but rather from the fear that it represented a

‘double burden’ on their shoulders through having “to pay the

highest taxes for the South as well as extra money for the inclusion

of southerners in ‘their’ cities”. 44 This is illustrated clearly by

a speech from councillor Timoteo Nobile in 1957 entitled ‘MARP for

the economic well-being of Turin and Piedmont’ which illustrated

that MARP viewed the regional body as a tool which could help

advance Piedmontese interests against this double burden. Nobile put

forward the idea that

“Regional government, [was], indispensable for all

the Italian regions [and] for Piedmont in particular,

insofar as it is the region which pays the largest

quantity than any other in terms of taxes and the

continued influx into Piedmont of southern elements

and of other regions (around 3,000 per month)”.45

42 E. Capusotti‘NordisticontroSudistiInternalMigrationandRacisminTurin, Europe:1950sand1960s. in Italian Culture Volume 28 Issue 2, p.12143 A.Cento Bull, M.Gilbert The Lega Nord and the Northern Question in Italian Politics, Basingstoke, Palgrave, 2001 p.14)44 E. Capusotti‘NordisticontroSudistiInternalMigrationandRacisminTurin, Europe:1950sand1960s. in Italian Culture Volume 28 Issue 2, p.121

Nobile’s polemic against the South was emphasised by his

insistence that “it would be more just to think of our mountainous

population and those of Monferrato, which abandon the country due to

the lack of public works and increasing financial pressure”.46

Indeed, this was again mentioned in an article in MARP’s newspaper

Piemonte Nuovo pleading for the government to institute a “Cassa per

le Montagne” to match the existing fund for the south.47

In spite of the racist connotations, the focus on anti-

immigration in Piemonte Nuovo actually reveals more about the movement

than just anti-southernism. In order to explore this briefly, it is

necessary to focus on an extract from Piemonte Nuovo itself. In the

third edition of the paper, a large section is taken up by a letter

entitled Lettera diretta a chi viene dal Sud written by Roberto Codazza, a

Piedmontese “everyman” as an appeal against “those who come from the

South”.48 The letter clearly reflects the anti-immigrant element

within the movement pleading with an imaginary southerner to stay in

his “wretched little land of the South” in order to” resolve his own

problems by staying at home and fighting for administrative rights”.49 The letter states that “your mass exodus from your regions is not

45 “Appunto del Questore” Questura di Torino Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 20th January 1957

46 “Appunto del Questore” Questura di Torino Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 20th January 1957

47 “Istituire la Cassa per la Montagna” Piemonte Nuovo, 5th December 1959, Anno IV, No.16. Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino. Giorno II.486

48“Lettera diretta a chi viene dal Sud”, Piemonte Nuovo, Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino. Giorno II. 486 Anno I. N.3. 15 Ottobre 1956.

49Ibid.

only not a solution to your misfortunes but is a reason for the

weight of an already overpopulated land.” 50 While it would be easy

to dismiss this letter as simple anti-immigrant and anti-southern

propaganda, a more careful reading reveals something more than this.

Codazza states that “we fought in order to unite your lands to ours

in one Italy”. 51 This reference to the Risorgimento and MARP’s

interpretation of history and the Piedmontese role in the

unification of the Italian state is something which became ever

present in MARP’s discourse. Further examples throughout Piemonte

Nuovo’s issue argue in favour of regional autonomy as a “Second

Italian Risorgimento” stating that “After having made Italy, once

again Piedmont must teach how to make Italians and how to give life

to a true democracy”.52 In addition, another issue of Piemonte Nuovo

looks back to historical figures such as Gioberti and Minghetti,

stating that “Regionalism and administrative decentralisation is in

the spirit and the history of the Italian tradition”.53 Indeed, it

would appear that as the years went by MARP began focusing less on

the South and appealing more to Piedmontese sense of history, in

particular Piedmont’s central role in ‘making Italy’, demonstrated

aptly by an article in July 1959 entitled “People of Piedmont, they

can deny us everything, but not the pride of having made Italy.”54

50Ibid.

51Ibid.52 “Il Secondo Risorgimento Italiano, Piemonte Nuovo Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino. Giorno II. 48617th May 1958. Anno III, No.16.53 “Da un milennio gli Italiani sono autonomisti” Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino. Giorno II. 486Piemonte Nuovo 28th June 1958. Anno III. No.20

54 “Piemontese, possono negarci tutto ma non l’orgoglio di aver fattol’Italia” Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino. Giorno II. 486 Piemonte Nuovo – Anno.IV. No. 11-12 14th July 1959

Another key issue which is raised in the letter to the South is that

of regional identity. This is emphasised by including regional

dialect “Noi siamo convinti che voi siate in grado di ‘deve n’

ardriss’ come si dice qua.” 55 Further examples of how PIedmontese

identity is exploited by MARP in an attempt to win support can be

seen through articles which talk about the particularity of

Piedmontese character and also appeals on behalf of Piedmontese

folkloristic organisations to protect Piedmontese customs and

language. This can be further demonstrated by an article which

states that the Piedmontese are by nature patient, tolerant and that

a Piedmontese thinks “seven times” before making a decision. 56 The

letter in the 3rd edition of Piemonte Nuovo, therefore, far from being

a mere rant against immigration was a marker for how MARP’s

discourse would develop over the following years.

6) MAR

It is important to note, however, that Piemonte Nuovo was not the

only regionalist-based newspaper of the time to speak of internal

migration. Another similar publication known as Le Nostre Tasche also

used the subject of immigration, and linked the history of the

Italian state and the Risorgimento with its arguments. Contrary to

Piemonte Nuovo, this article was arguing in favour of migration from

the South to the North regions which was reflected in its title

55 “Istituire la Cassa per la Montagna” Piemonte Nuovo, 5th December 1959, Anno IV, No.16. Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino. Giorno II.486

56 “I Piemontesi sono per natura fin troppo pazienti e tolleranti. Non sopportano però di essere trattati da ‘fabioc’” Biblioteca NazionaleUniversitaria di Torino. Giorno II. 486Piemonte Nuovo, Anno I – N.4 Torino – 1Novembre 1956.

“Assurda la Polemica fra Nord e Sud”. Although both articles mention

the same arguments, they are diametrically opposed on almost all of

them. Most significant of these contradictions was Le Nostre Tasche’s

plea for tolerance towards migrants and argument that it would

benefit the North both socially and financially, thus stating that

“we must not close the door on our brothers from the South”. 57 Like

Piemonte Nuovo’s article, it also looked to the past to justify its

claims. The article emphasised a historical fraternity between

Sicilians, Piedmontese, Lombards and Neapolitans,who fought as

brothers in arms for unification. Putting such a simplistic view of

the Risorgimento aside, Le Nostre Tasche’s article is nevertheless

interesting as it aims to use the issue of immigration not to divide

but to instead unite.58 In many ways it is not surprising that this

newspaper took such a contrasting position to Piemonte Nuovo and MARP

as it was the mouthpiece of Enrico Villarboito and his new movement

Movimento Autonomia Regionali (MAR) which he had formed following

his expulsion from MARP.

MAR reflected Villarboito’s ambition by attempting to take the

fight of regional autonomy beyond Piedmont to the whole of Italy

and, to this purpose, created both a northern and a southern

section. Looking at electoral material released by both MARP and MAR

it is possible to note some key similarities but also some important

differences which reflect a strictly ‘regional’ nature of the former

and the more ‘national’ nature of the latter. Both leaflets attest

to an ‘anti-political’ element within their movements, stating that

that they wished to dedicated themselves to administrative reform

and not to align themselves with other political parties. Similarly,

57 “Assurda la Polemica fra Nord e Sud” Le Nostre Tasche Biblioteca NazionaleUniversitaria di Torino. Giorno II. 486 Anno.1 No.3.

58 Ibid

both movements commit themselves to a battle to implement the

regional statutes written in the Italian constitution and highlight

that it is Rome which is the obstacle to this. Both movements also

utilize the slogan of “Aiutare si’, mantenere no”, referring to the

fact that they want to help poorer regions of Italy but not maintain

them through measures such as the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno. The

biggest difference noticeable here is that on the leaflet of MAR it

states “non intendiamo sbattere la porta in faccia ai fratelli delle

altre parti d’Italia” – This leaflet being from the Northern section

of the movement (comprising of Milan, Genoa, Bologna, Venice and

Trieste) – the other parts of Italy must be the Southern regions.

Such a plea to not ignore the South is missing from the MARP leaflet

and it is indeed this issue of North and South which divides the two

movements which were so similar in so many other ways. Although

clearly opposed on the issue of immigration, the aims of MAR and

MARP were essentially the same in that they wished to see the

regional statutes in the constitution respected and implemented. The

two movements were in fact so similar that MARP had to publish a

notification in their newspaper stating that they had “no links with

other autonomist movements” wishing to avoid any confusion with

posters placed around the city which carry the name of MAR

(Movimento Autonomie Regionali).59

59 “Il MARP non ha rapporti con altri gruppi autonomisti” Piemonte Nuovo Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino. Giorno II. 486Anno I . N.2. 20. Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino. Giorno II. 486 Settembre 1956. L.30

60

7) Villarboito’s last stand

The idea that “something new and constructive was emerging in

Italy” in the form of Villarboito’s new movement proved itself to be

premature as Villarboito’s political jinx continued to plague him.61

In spite of the fact that MAR on the surface promoted and

encouraged the formation of autonomist movements in the various

regions of Italy, in reality “it failed to take any initiative on

60Archivio di Stato. Torino61 Archivio di Stato. Torino

the political plain or managed to form any significant links with

other autonomist movements”62. Villarboito abandoned MAR in 1958 with

the hope of forcing his way back into MARP by circulating 2000

political manifestos with the symbol of MARP on one side and an

image of himself on the other. In attempting to rejoin MARP,

Villarboito was in effect admitting defeat in his project of taking

the fight for regional autonomy to the entire Italian peninsula and

re-opening old wounds in the movement which had been caused by the

signing of two separate statutes in 1955. Villarboito declared

himself determined to “salvage the salvageable” from a movement

which he claimed “no longer listened to the grassroots members” and

whose members “without his support would never be elected to

parliament”. 63 However, Mario Vezzani, a key exponent of MARP

stated that “Villarboito was considered to be lacking in political

and moral requisites to be allowed back into the movement.”64 Michele

Rosboch went further by stating that Villarboito was “nothing more

than a forgettable episode of our movement”.65 Once he had finished

his cutting insult, Rosboch proceded to rub salt in the wound by

stating that the movement was “busy preparing for the national

convention” for during which they were confident of forming an

alliance of Milanese autonomists. This must have aggrieved

Villarboito who had for the past year been attempting to forge links

62 Questura di Torino. 066.406.10. Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 8th June 1956

63 “Appunto del Questore”, Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A 24th January 1958

64 “Appunto del Questore”, Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A 24th January 1958

65 “Le ‘rivelazioni’ di Villarboito sul MARP e la risposta dei dirigenti autonomisti” La Stampa Sunday 16th February 1958. http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,2/articleid,0064_01_1958_0041_0002_16372259/

around the country with MAR. As a result, Villarboito criticised

MARP for forming alliances with other groups, accusing them of being

detached from the real needs of Piedmont. With what seems to have

been his final political movement ‘Autonomia Piemontese Movimento

Villarboito attempted to put forward the argument that Piedmontese

citizens paid disproportionate levels of taxes by circulating 1000

cheques around the city signed as “nauseato sfiduciato”. Even here,

though, the fact that the logo of his movement shows his face and is

indeed named after him would seem evidence enough of a character who

was keen to stamp his own personal authority on any political

movement he was involved in. Villarboito had managed to form an

alliance with at least one other regional movement from Novara,

entitled SCOPA (servire coscienziosamnete ogni pubblica

amministrazione).66

66“Costituzione del Movimento ‘Autonomia Piemontese Movimento Villarboito’”. Cat. A3A, b.1 Archivio di Stato, Torino. 066/544/10. 8th April1958

It is important to note that prior to this alliance with

SCOPA, it is highly likely that the reason why MAR had been

unsuccessful was that MARP’s leadership had been beating Villarbotio

at his own game, forming links with a variety of autonomist groups

in North Italy.

7) Movimento per l’Autonomia Regionali Padane

The success of MARP in the 1956 elections had sparked the

emergence of various autonomist movements. The first of these was in

Liguria where “a movement emerged which assumed the title of MARL

and has established its headquartes in Genoa, 10 Piazza Campetto”

MARP stated in Piemonte Nuovo that “The Ligurians, like us

Piedmontese, have created a free movement, independent of Parties,

with no political ties to Rome”. They went on to state that

“Piedmont, Lombardy and today even Liguria have their own

committees, have their own organisation and men ready to battle for

the regional autonomy which is the only way to break the excessive

power of the centralised bureaucracy and the dominant partyocracy”67.

For historical reasons it is particularly relevant that MARP

recognised the autonomists of Liguria a regions which had been

denied any measure of autonomy whilst under the rule of the Savoy

Dynasty. The enthusiasm for other autonomist movements in various

regions was, however, not limited to Liguria. Indeed, prior to the

emergence of MARL, Indeed Prior to the emrgence of this Ligurian

movement, there had also been the emergence of MAB (Movimento per

l’Autonomia Bergamasca) which had received 106 votes in the council

elections of 1956.68

The aforementioned movements are but two of the many

autonomist groups which emerged in the 1950s. By 1958 there were

enough organisations to justify holding the first meeting between

Italian autonomist movements. This took place in Verona on 19th

67“Saluto agli autonomistii della Liguria”, Piemonte Nuovo Anno II. No.1 Torino 1 Gennaio 1958, Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino. Giorno II. 486

68” L’Autonomia regionale nella provincia di Bergamo” Piemonte Nuovo, Anno I. Numero I –15 Settembre 1956. Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino. Giorno II. 486

January 1958 with speeches from a group of participants from

Milanese, Bergamascans, Bresicans, Trentino, Veronese as well as

participants from the Centro Politico Italiano of Rome. Naturally,

this conference was organised by MARP who sent a delegation made up

of the President of the movement, Achille Barricco, Regional

Secretary Germano Benzi and Council assessor Franco Bruno, all of

whom participated actively throughout the conference. “mDr Benzi,

representing MARP put forward the idea of a meeting between all the

autonomist movements of North Italy and to the constitution of the

autonomist groups in central-south Italy…with the key goal of such a

Union being the struggle against Roman centralism, without

discriminating from Region to Region. Following this meeting, there

was indeed an attempt to bring these groups together in an electoral

pact the following month69.

Dr Benzi appeared to be a key exponent of merging MARP with

other autonomist movements and at the end of the conference declared

that

“the congress has been a great success: we will

present the symbol of MARP to 12 million Piedmontese,

Lombard, Ligurian, Venetian and Trent electors. The

Ligurian autonomists will join the pact in the

following days. If possible we will also present

ourselves in some of the electoral colleges in Emilia

Romagna: for now, our electoral strength is

constituted by the 50 thousand votes gathered in the

Piedmontese administrative elections, by the 10

thoudand votes form the Bergamascan autonomists, by

69“Vei Piemunt! Gli Autonomisti Italiani vedono nel MARP l’algiere dell’autonomia regionale – il congresso di Verona ha messo in luce che l’idea autonomista ѐ oggi diventata la forza motrice del popolo italiano” Piemonte Nuovo Anno III. No.3 1 febbraio 1958. Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino. Giorno II. 486

the 45,000 votes in Bolzano and from the 15-16

thousand Tirolese votes”70.

Further to this conference, in October 1961, a further meeting

of several autonomist movements was brought to the attention of the

police headquarters of Milan, Venice, Bologna, Genoa, Bergamo, Turin

and Como. The meeting was between Gruppo Amministrativo Autonomista di

Mestre, l’Unione Emiliana Cristiani Sociali, il Partito Democratico Federalista Italiano, Il

Partito Laborista Italiano, Il movimento Autonomia Regionale Lombardo and MARP.

After much debate, those present decided to give life to the

Federazione Autonomie Regionali Italiane.71 Some of its members -

the most ambitious – were happy that MARP was presenting itself in

all the Piedmontese electoral colleges connected with the movements

of other regions. However, other leading figures wanted MARP to

designate its more recognised men in he lists of democratic parties

of the centre, granted that these parties would give guarantees for

the implementation of regional Autonomy for Piedmont”.72 In the end

it was to be the second plan of action which succeeded in the 1960s

and lead to an irreparable split in the movement.

8) The decline of MARP

MARP had effectively been in decline since its initial

victories due to the fact that it never managed to effectively build

70 ‘Il MARP diventa Padano per presentarsi alle elezioni’, La Stampa, 24 February 1958.http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,2/articleid,1580_02_1958_0047A_0002_23556259/71“Federazione Autonomie Regionali Italiane”, Questura di Milano, Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 19th October 19

72 “Le Origini del MARP e gli uomini che lo rappresentano”, Appunto del Questore di Torino.Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 24 Gennaio. 1958

on or even replicate its great success in the 1956 communal

elections. The result of this can be seen in the unhappy experience

of the political elections of 1960 in which its votes were reduced

to 19,274 and 2 seats on the regional council. The two elected MARP

councillors were Dr Germano Benzi, who had shown himself so

enthusiastic for the cause of forming electoral alliances with other

autonomist groups, and Dr Timoteo Nobile, who had given the rousing

speech in 1957 which denounced the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno and

assured the 350 people present that MARP would remain true to its

programme and, furthermore, that the expectations of the 32,000

electors who support it would not be disappointed. The speaker, who

had been presented by the assessor Franco Bruno, had been repeatedly

and warmly applauded.73 However, now, a few years down the line, both

Nobile and Benzi were to perform a political U-turn against fighting

for autonomy and act as the architects of destruction of the

movement whilst Bruno would be one of their fiercest opponents.

With such a reduction in influence on the council, it became

increasingly more difficult for the movement to make itself heard

and considerably easier for the other elements of the council to

drown out the by now tired calls for regional autonomy in Piedmont.

A party which was on the rise in Piedmont, on the other hand, was

the PSDI which had seen their vote increase by 2% from 1954 and had

increased its council members from 6 to 8. Significantly, the PSDI

also had regional autonomy written into its programme. Benzi and

Nobile, being the two elected MARP councillors, saw in this growing

movement an opportunity to advance their own political careers and

in 1962 plans were put into motion to merge MARP with the PSDI via a

73“Appunto del Questore” Questura di Torino, Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 20 Gennaio 1957

series of talks between these two MARP exponents and the social

democratic exponent Avv. Guido Secreto.

It could well be stated that MARP, in attempting to enter the

PSDI represented a paradox as it was this very party that

Piedmontese socialists had split from barely ten years before in the

search for greater autonomy. In 1953, the Piedmontese section of the

PSDI had broken away from the party to form what was to become part

of a larger movement under the banner of Autonomia Socialista. In

an early political leaflet, there is a call to action under the

title of ‘Socialisti Piemontesi!’ which is littered with elements of

Piedmontese pride of having been the first to leave the PSDI and to

have prepared the way for an ‘absolutely independent socialist

party’. The appeal to Piedmontese socialists is also evident through

attacks on the centralism of Rome. “Never before like today have we

had less need to wait for the initative of the men in Rome.” It is

ironic, therefore, that whilst in 1953, autonomists caused a split

in the PSDI, ten years later it was to welcome autonomists into its

ranks. As previously noted, the motivation cited by MARP was that

the PSDI had regional autonomy written into its programme.74 However,

MARP passed to the PSDI with its debt of around 18 million lire

which would also raise the question of whether the operation had

financial motives. The conditions set by MARP for entering the PSDI

were 4 seats in the directive council, which was judged to be

excessive by the Social Democrat exponents. 75 Eventually, MARP was

offered a place at the centre of the executive committee with the

74 Questura di Torino Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 066/1580/10 n- 15 Novembre 1962

75“PSDI – Congresso Provinciale”, Questura di Torino 066/1451/10 Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 13. Novembre 1962

right to vote and other two posts in the direct provincial council

but only with a consultative and non-deciding vote, both of these

posts would be assigned to Nobile and Benzi.

The merging of MARP with the PSDI inevitably caused a split in

the movement with Franco Bruno once again proving himself to be one

of the most tenacious members of MARP, fighting tooth and nail to

keep the movement alive and independent. A matter of weeks after the

merging of MARP with the PSDI, Bruno called a meeting of around 40

people, amongst whom there was the marpist leader of the Comune of

Pinerolo, Dr Carlo Marino. Bruno affirmed that the key reasons which

had brought the movement into existence in 1955 were still valid

and, therefore, rejected the fusion with the PSDI stating that this

move was wanted by only a minority of members who had failed to

consult the grass-roots of the movement Most significantly, Bruno

wished to re-affirm his faith in regional autonomy, stating that

“further to being Piedmontese, we are also Italian; the constitution

of the regions is a sane and healthy measure that will give

tranquillity to and stabilise the general equilibrium of the

country.76

IL MARP bis

One of the final stories of MARP was a somewhat farcical

controversy caused by the two identical symbols presented at the

76“Lettera Al Sig,. Capo Ufficio Politico” Questura di Torino, Archivio di Stato. Torino. Cat.A3A. 066/1580/10 1st December 1963.

1964 elections, which was indeed the final time a MARP list would be

presented. On 26th October 1964, Bruno, headed a MARP list of

candidates for the next administrative elections. However, Bruno’s

attempts to keep the movement alive were considered illegal by

Germano Benzi who cited that that when “in November 1962, when

MARP’s two councillors Benzi and Nobile and the entire directive

committee merged with the PSDI, all the rights of the movement moved

with it, including the symbol and the name” as a result, “the only

group which can use the symbol and present lists of MARP is the

PSDI”77. Barely a month before the elections, Giovanni De Bernardi

an ex-member of MARP who had defected to the PSDI tried to disrupt

Bruno’s attempts to reform the movement, by heading a second list,

of 27 candidates with the same MARP symbol.78 The dilemma of the two

lists of candidates at the council elections (marp or marp bis) with

the same symbol was not resolved until the last minute when MARP bis

was forced to withdraw its list.79 Such an attempt to sabotage the

movement barely seemed necessary and this bitter split was a sad end

to a political movement which had shown so much promise in local

politics ten years previously, but in the elections of 1964, with

77 “Il MARP bis non intende modificare il simbolo.” La Stampa http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,2/articleid,1558_02_1964_0247_0002_21900234/

78“MARP & PSDI” Questura di Torino Questura di Torino Archivio di Stato. 066.1228/10 Torino.Cat.A3A 28th October 1964

79“MARP & PSDI” Questura di Torino Questura di Torino Archivio di Stato. 066.1228/10 Torino.Cat.A3A 28th October 1964

only 1.02% of the vote, failed to return a single candidate.80

80 1947-2006. Il Consiglio comunale di Torino Nell’Italia RepubblicanaArchivio Storico della città di TorinoAtti consiliari – Serie Storica2006Sesta edizione