The beginning of the neo-fascist strategy of tension against the democratic State
Abstract: On December 12, 1969, a series of attacks struck Milan and Rome, causing 17 deaths and dozens of injuries, with the deadliest explosion occurring at the Banca Nazionale dell’Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana. The massacre marked the beginning of the strategy of tension, an subversive plan aimed at spreading fear, destabilizing democratic institutions, and creating the conditions for an authoritarian response by the State. Set within the context of the Cold War, Italy’s geopolitical centrality, and the intense social tensions of the time, the terrorist action was accompanied by serious investigative cover-ups that initially directed responsibility toward anarchist circles. The death of Giuseppe Pinelli and the long, fragmented judicial process fueled a profound crisis of trust in public institutions. Only later did the courts establish the neo-fascist origin of the massacre, albeit without definitive convictions. More than fifty years later, Piazza Fontana remains a warning about the fragility of democracy and the need to safeguard truth, fundamental rights, and the rule of law even in times of emergency.
Keywords: #PiazzaFontanaMassacre #December12_1969 #StrategyOfTension #Fascism #ColdWar #NeoFascistTerrorism #CoverUps #Pinelli #Valpreda #OrdineNuovo #RuleOfLaw #RepublicanMemory #FragileDemocracy #Criminology #History #Politics #ItalianMysteries #MassimilianoMancini #FrancescoMancini #EthicaSocietas #EthicaSocietasJournal
The Piazza Fontana Massacre: the origin of the strategy of tension
December 12, 1969 marks a turning point in the history of the young Italian Republic, which, only twenty-one years after its birth, was subjected to neo-fascist subversive attempts. Through a series of attacks against unarmed civilians, these forces sought to generate a widespread climate of fear and tension capable of destabilizing democratic institutions, creating the conditions for a compression of democratic freedoms and justifying an extra ordinem institutional response aimed at establishing an autocratic and authoritarian regime under the slogan “extreme situations require extreme measures.”
The so-called “strategy of tension” began on the afternoon of Friday, December 12, 1969, at the headquarters of the Banca Nazionale dell’Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana, Milan, and continued as part of a broader and more structured plan through subsequent events. At that moment the bank was crowded with customers, mostly from the surrounding province. At 4:30 p.m., while other banks were closing, many people were still inside the branch. The explosion occurred at 4:37 p.m., when a device containing seven kilograms of TNT detonated in the large domed hall, killing 17 people—14 instantly—and injuring 88 others. The seventeenth victim died a year later from health complications related to the blast.
It was not a single bomb or a single attack, but a series of planned assaults.
A second bomb was found unexploded at the Milan headquarters of the Banca Commerciale Italiana in Piazza della Scala. The bag was recovered, but the device— which could have provided valuable evidence for the investigation—was detonated by bomb disposal experts later that same evening.
A third bomb exploded in Rome at 4:55 p.m. in the underground passage connecting the Via Veneto entrance of the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro with that of Via di San Basilio. Two more bombs exploded in Rome between 5:20 and 5:30 p.m.: one in front of the Altare della Patria and another at the entrance of the Central Museum of the Risorgimento in Piazza Venezia. In Rome, a total of 16 people were injured.
The historical and political context
The Piazza Fontana massacre, which took place on December 12, 1969 in Milan, cannot be understood if isolated from the geopolitical and international context in which it developed.
Italy has always occupied a crucial position within the Western geopolitical framework: a NATO member state with a strategic location in the Mediterranean. In the post-war period, the East–West bipolarity that fueled the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States generated both domestic and international fears of a possible shift in Italy’s political balance, perceived as destabilizing for the Atlantic order. Italy also presented a strong political anomaly: the presence of the largest Communist Party in Western Europe, deeply rooted in society and potentially capable of influencing governmental equilibria.
By the late 1960s, Italy was experiencing a phase of intense social conflict. The tensions of the so-called Hot Autumn, workers’ and students’ struggles, and the emergence of new forms of political participation intensified these concerns. At the same time, the international climate—marked by growing anxiety over the escalation of the Cold War into a nuclear conflict—created fertile ground for destabilizing actions. Within this framework, the Piazza Fontana massacre emerged as a traumatic event destined to radically alter perceptions of internal security.
Immediately after this long day of attacks that struck Milan and Rome—the economic and institutional centers of Italy—the idea of a “government of national salvation” began to surface, a premise for an authoritarian drift intended to confront the generalized insecurity that was being feared.
A few days after the massacre, on December 15, Prime Minister Mariano Rumor met at his Milan residence with the secretaries of the governing coalition, which had fractured several months earlier. On December 19, the leadership of the largest party convened. Nevertheless, Rumor took a firm stance against the idea of “a government born out of bombs.”
Early investigations, cover-ups, and judicial truth
The investigations were initially directed toward all groups in which potential extremists might be found. Approximately 80 individuals were detained for questioning, particularly anarchists from the “Circolo 22 Marzo” in Rome—including Pietro Valpreda—and from the “Circolo Ponte della Ghisolfa” in Milan, among whom was Giuseppe Pinelli. According to Antonino Allegra, then head of the political office of the Milan police headquarters, who testified before the Parliamentary Commission on the massacres, the arrests were particularly numerous and also involved figures from the extreme right, in order to prevent these individuals—considered at risk—from organizing demonstrations or other actions dangerous to public order in the following days.
From Milan, Prefect Libero Mazza, acting on information provided by Federico Umberto D’Amato, head of the Office of Reserved Affairs at the Ministry of the Interior, informed Prime Minister Mariano Rumor that intelligence pointed toward responsibility by “anarchoid groups.” This information later proved to be a deliberate cover-up.
Giuseppe Pinelli, an anarchist railway worker, died on December 15, 1969 after falling from a window of the Milan Police Headquarters during an interrogation. His death, initially described as resulting from an “active illness,” became one of the most controversial symbols of that period and contributed to a profound erosion of trust in public authorities.
Subsequently, judicial investigations gradually shifted focus toward far-right subversive circles, revealing a complex network of cover-ups, omissions, and interference that delayed the establishment of the truth.
The judicial proceedings relating to the Piazza Fontana massacre were long and fragmented, with trials held in different venues and often contradictory outcomes. In 2005, the Court of Cassation definitively established the responsibility of members of Ordine Nuovo, though without final convictions due to the death of the defendants or the statute of limitations.
Judicial truth, while incomplete in terms of punitive outcomes, nonetheless clarified the neo-fascist origin of the attack, disproving the accusations initially directed at anarchist circles.
Memory, responsibility, and democracy
More than fifty years later, the Piazza Fontana massacre continues to challenge the republican conscience. It highlights the problematic relationship between security and freedom, between reason of State and the rule of law, and between international context and democratic sovereignty.
The memory of Piazza Fontana is not merely the commemoration of victims, but an institutional warning: no geopolitical necessity, no bloc logic, no emergency can justify the suspension of constitutional principles, the manipulation of truth, or the use of violence as a political instrument.
Remembering that massacre means reaffirming that democracy is fragile, but also that its defense depends on transparency, responsibility, and the rejection of any strategy founded on fear—because security must never be pursued at the expense of truth, fundamental rights, and citizens’ trust in public institutions.
NOTE:
Cover image: RAI – RAI Press Office, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=127338236
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