Biography of Luigi Calabresi
May 17, 1972
Luigi Calabresi was born on November 14, 1937 to Rome from a middle class family (his father trades wines and oils). After completing grammar school "St Leo the great", in 1964 he graduated in law with a thesis on the Sicilian mafia. The legal career, however, prefers that the police, not wanting to become neither a lawyer nor judge. While playing in the Christian movement in 1965, Jesuit father Virginio OASIS wins the contest for Deputy Commissioner of public safety: after taking part in the training course of the higher Institute of Police enters service in Milan, where is inserted into the political Bureau at the police headquarters. Sporadic contributor social democratic newspaper "Justice" and, under a pseudonym, "Momento Sera," Calabresi in Milan is tasked to investigate the parliamentary left environments, with particular reference to anarchist groups and Maoist groups. Anarchists, in particular, are suspected of having provided explosives used in Greece to the attacks during the dictatorship of the colonels.
In 1967 knows Giuseppe Pinelli after taking to the police headquarters in Como, at the request of the anarchists, permission for an anarchist to camping Colico; in November of the same year, however, is in charge of police forces that deal with the eviction of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart occupied by students led by Mario Capanna (the first example of student struggle, which kicks off at sixty-eight milanese). In 1968 Calabresi was appointed Chief Commissioner, and on more than one occasion directs police departments charges over the clashes and protests of that era; at Christmas of that year give Giuseppe Pinelli the book by Enrico Emanuelli "thousand million men" (will receive in return, the August following, the favorite book by the anarchist milanese, "Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters"). Became Deputy Chief of the political Bureau of the police headquarters in Milan, in April of 1969 received a Commission to investigate the attacks that took place in the main railway station and the trade fair of Milan: stops and stops fifteen representatives of the extra-parliamentary left, becoming nationally known. Those arrested, however, will remain in jail for seven months, before leaving the prison for lack of evidence. In November 1969 Luigi Calabresi is participating in the funeral of police officer Antonio Annarumma, and intervenes to defend Mario Capanna, a member of the left, from the wrath of colleagues of Abdulla.
A month later, is to investigate the massacre of piazza Fontana in Milan, where a bomb placed in the Branch Office of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura killed 17 people and injured nearly a hundred. The Commissioner Calabresi immediately think the track of the extreme left, and goes up against his will to the headlines for Giuseppe Pinelli's death, summoned to the police station after the massacre, held in custody for almost three days (unlawfully, therefore) and fell from Calabresi's Office window.
The tragic event occurs on 15 December, and the press conference which is convened to explain what happened speaks of suicide (the version will be retracted afterwards: the death of Pinelli will never be made clear to the bottom). Since then, however, the Commissioner comes under attack for extra-parliamentary formations of the left and becomes the object of a campaign of denunciation involving numerous intellectuals: in 1970, for example, Dario Fo writes the play "accidental death of an anarchist", evidently inspired by the facts, while Nelo Risi and Elio Petri directed the feature film "documents on Giuseppe Pinelli. Calabresi is threatened directly, with writings on the walls and beyond: towards him, thus increasing hatred grows also because of press campaign promoted by the newspaper "Lotta Continua", denouncing in no uncertain terms the alleged responsibility of Commissioner (and other men of the police) for the death of Pinelli. On 15 April 1970 Commissioner denouncing the editor of "Lotta Continua", Pio Baldelli, for defamation and aggravated continues: in October of that year, kicks off the process known as "Calabresi-Lotta Continua" (after that in July the investigation of Judge Antonio Amati on December 15 facts had been stored). The process becomes a heated political battle ground: the lawyer of Calabresi, Michele Lener, rejects the judge Carlo Biotti, than in a private conversation he had spoken of his intention to carry out Baldelli, but such a request for recusal is interpreted by many as an attempt to delay after the exhumation of the corpse of advanced by advocates of the same Pinelli Baldelli. An objection is accepted on 7 June 1971 by the Court of appeal: the following week Camilla Cederna publishes an article on the "Espresso" indicates Calabresi as a torturer responsible for the death of Pinelli and prosecution have polluted the process barrels to careerism. In the following number of "express" are published the names of many intellectuals who signed the appeal of Cederna (calling Calabresi resignation).
Meanwhile, Mr Calabresi is also being charged a Cia agent and a man of trust of Barry Goldwater, who would present to General De Lorenzo. In this tense atmosphere, the 17 May 1972 the Commissioner Luigi Calabresi was killed in front of his house in Milan while it's going to take their car to go to the Office: to assassinate him at least two persons, who are surprising behind. Calabrians leave, therefore, his wife Gemma goat and two sons, Paolo and Mario (which would become a famous journalist), while another, Luigi, born a few months later. In 1988 one of the assassins of Luigi Calabresi, Leonardo Marino, repent and confess to having participated in the murder along with Brandon bales, with principals the exponents of Lotta Continua, Adriano Sofri and Giorgio Pietrostefani: the latter two will be sentenced to 22 years in prison, as well as bowsprits, while Marino will be sentenced to 11 years.
Article contributed by the team of collaborators.