This book offers an original and comprehensive study of the memory of the Rogo di Primavalle, a fatal arson attack on the home of a far-right family on 16 April 1973. Perpetrated by members of the militant left group Potere Operaio, this was the first attack on a domestic space during Italy's Years of Lead. Through analysis of media coverage, books, and social media; observation of commemoration ceremonies; visits to sites of memory; and oral history interviews conducted by the author, The Politics of Sacrifice argues that memory of the Rogo di Primavalle has been instrumentalised by neo-fascist groups over the past 50 years. Drawing on contemporary theoretical debates relating to public and private memories, King connects the construction of a narrative of sacrifice to challenges faced by the institutional far right from the time of the Movimento Sociale Italiano in the 1970s, Alleanza Nazionale in the mid-1990s, and Fratelli d'Italia today. With the far right on the rise in Italy and abroad, the book identifies the characteristics of remembering that define far-right memory culture and investigates the role of memory in building support for the far right over time.

Winner of the 2024 Book Prize First Book (Ex-Aequo) awarded by The American Association for Italian Studies for its outstanding contribution to Italian Studies.

With a Foreword from Professor Alessandro Portelli The first comprehensive study of the memory of the Rogo di Primavalle and its relationship to far-right identity Considers the role of neo-fascist memory culture in building identity and the recent resurgence of the far right Draws on the tools and perspectives of disciplines including History, Sociology and Political Science

Autorentext

Amy King is Lecturer in Modern European History at the University of Bristol, UK.

Klappentext

This book offers an original and comprehensive study of the memory of the Rogo di Primavalle, a fatal arson attack on the home of a far-right family on 16 April 1973. Perpetrated by members of the militant left group Potere Operaio, this was the first attack on a domestic space during Italy’s Years of Lead. Through analysis of media coverage, books, and social media; observation of commemoration ceremonies; visits to sites of memory; and oral history interviews conducted by the author, The Politics of Sacrifice argues that memory of the Rogo di Primavalle has been instrumentalised by neo-fascist groups over the past 50 years. Drawing on contemporary theoretical debates relating to public and private memories, King connects the construction of a narrative of sacrifice to challenges faced by the institutional far right from the time of the Movimento Sociale Italiano in the 1970s, Alleanza Nazionale in the mid-1990s, and Fratelli d’Italia today. With the far right on the rise in Italy and abroad, the book identifies the characteristics of remembering that define far-right memory culture and investigates the role of memory in building support for the far right over time. Winner of the 2024 Book Prize – First Book (Ex-Aequo) awarded by The American Association for Italian Studies for its outstanding contribution to Italian Studies.

Inhalt
Part I.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Mediated Memories and Contested Narratives.- 3. Political Martyrdom and Counter-Memory.- Part 2.- 1995-2012: After the Svolta di Fiuggi.- 4. Honouring a Lost Heritage.- 5. Pacification of Memory after Lollo's Confession.- Part 3. From Fratelli d'Italia to CasaPound.- 6. Historicising Far-Right Sacrifice in the Populist Era.- 7. Afterword: The Legacy of Divided Memory. <p