Biennio Rosso

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Biennio Rosso
Part of the Revolutions of 191723

September 1920: armed workers occupy factories in Milan

Date

1919-1920

Location Italy

Causes

The economic crisis in the Aftermath of World

War I, with high unemployment and political
instability.

Methods Mass strikes, worker manifestations as well as

self-management experiments through land
and factory occupations.

Result

The revolutionary period was followed by the

violent reaction of the Fascist blackshirtsmilitia
and eventually by the March on Romeof Benito

Mussolini in 1922.

Parties to the civil conflict

Revolutionaries

Italy

Workers' councils

Left-wing militias

Right-wing militias

Factories manned by the Red Guards in 1920

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The Biennio Rosso (English: "Red Biennium" or "Two Red Years") was a two-year period, between
1919 and 1920, of intense social conflict in Italy, following the First World War.[1] The revolutionary
period was followed by the violent reaction of the Fascist blackshirts militia and eventually by
the March on Rome of Benito Mussolini in 1922.
Contents
[hide]

1Background

2Events

3Aftermath

4See also

5References

6Further reading

7External links

Background[edit]
The Biennio Rosso took place in a context of economic crisis at the end of the war, with high
unemployment and political instability. It was characterized by mass strikes, worker manifestations
as well as self-management experiments through land and factories occupations. [1] Tension had been
rising since the final years of the war. Some contemporary observers considered Italy to be on the
brink of a revolution by the end of 1918.[2]
The population was confronted with rising inflation and a significant increase in the price of basic
goods, in a period that extensive unemployment was aggravated by mass demobilization of
the Royal Italian Army at the end of the war. Association to the trade unions, the Italian Socialist

Party (PSI), and the anarchist movementincreased substantially. The PSI increased its membership
to 250,000, and the major Socialist trade union, theGeneral Confederation of
Labour (Confederazione Generale del Lavoro, CGL), reached two million members, while the
anarchist Italian Syndicalist Union (Unione Sindacale Italiana, USI) reached between 300,000 and
500,000 affiliates. The vigour of the anarchists was boosted by the return from exile of the anarchist
leaderErrico Malatesta.[3]