Abstract

One year after the so-called «events of June 1960», the antifascist mobilisation in june 1960 occurred in Genoa and elsewhere, the first issue of the review «Democrazia Diretta. Notiziario delle lotte e della democrazia operaia» («Direct Democracy. News of the struggles and democracy of the working class») was published in Genoa. The publication was the result of the collaboration between a group of young intellectual activists and some workers, and presented itself as autonomous from political parties and trade unions, and as an expression of new social forces and ideas. In the first part this essay traces the origins of the journal looking at the biographies of the contributors and at their own constitution as a group. In the second part it considers the cultural and political context, with particular reference to the event of June 30, 1960 and the sudden emergence of young people on the political scene. The second part analyzes the content of the journal paying particular attention to the «workerism» and the proximity with the «Quaderni Rossi» by Panzieri, the influence of both Caffi's and Chiaromonte's thought, and the openness toward new civil rights movements. The final part attempts to give an account of the premature interruption of the publication, linking it to its inner centrifugal forces along with the success of new cultural and political forms that would give life to the New Left Movement.