Identity Statement

Reference Code

HU OSA 300-120-31

Title

Subject Files Relating to Italy

Date(s)

1961 - 1991

Description Level

Series

Extent and medium (processed)

46 Archival boxes, 5.75 linear meters

Context

Name of creator(s)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc - Research Institute

Administrative / Biographical history

The collection's subject files contain mostly newspaper clippings from major Italian press sources, news agencies, and brochures collected by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 

Archival history

This collection was extracted from the collection HU OSA 300-120-26 (Files relating to the Vatican) because extracted materials in 46 archival boxes exclusively relate to the history, politics, and economy of the Italian Republic in the period 1961-1991.

Content and Structure

Scope and Content (Abstract)

The series witnesses thirty years of the Italian Republic's history during the Cold War's final stage (1961 - 1991). It was collected, organized, and arranged by the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The collection contains 289 archival folders arranged by subject topics sorted alphabetically and chronologically in 46 standard archival boxes. Most documents are press clippings of the leading Italian daily newspapers and journals supplemented by RFE/RL internal reports and other non-RFE/RL-related materials.

The creator established an alphabetical order of the terms and expressions mirrored the Italian political, cultural, and economic scene from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s. The records show that the creator emphasized two intermingled areas of interest, domestic and international relations. Domestic political themes are dominating. They include information about the leading political parties that created a governing majority with their internal dynamic and in connection with other political players from the left to the right of the political spectrum. It also includes biographies of prominent political figures, ministers, and presidents like Giulio Andreotti and Bettino Craxi. Folders on scandals, bankruptcy, state breakdown, etc., illustrate the frangibility of the Italian democracy, which was often involved in numerous financial and criminal scandals of that time. There is a particular focus on the opposition, leftist, rightist, and radical political parties present on the political scene, including labor movements, trade unions, and strikes. One topic that was well covered was the kidnapping and murder of Italian Prime Minister Aldo Morro in 1978 by the radical leftist terrorist organization Red Brigades, illustrating sometimes chaotic political situations marked by anarchists and extreme terrorism (Milan Bombing). As the Italian governing parties were not committed to long-term cooperation, the governing coalitions lived short and soon collapsed, bringing frequent parliamentary and local elections that are also well documented. 


Among international topics, those concerning Italian foreign policy with Warsaw Pact countries and the US dominate. Important materials relate to diplomatic activities, especially visits from Rome of Italian politicians to eastern European communist capitals and vice versa. Thus, high state visits between the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and some other countries are well documented, while, for instance, the relationship with Western European countries was hardly recorded. Some focus is on Africa, China, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The series also reflects on the common market, the European Economic Community, its policy toward Italy, and its contribution to Italian economic development. 


Finally, the third set of archival materials relates to domestic affairs, from the economic and industrial development of various branches of industry and services such as construction works, highways, transport, and traffic to tourism in Sicily. The folder on tourism in Venice is exciting, with city maps and tourist booklets from the 1960s. On the Italian social issues of that time, there are documents on the use of drugs, alcohol, and crime in general, but also natural disasters and the status of sexual and other minorities. Folders on art and culture also include documents on cinemas (Venice Biennale), theater, and Literature, while music was covered with special folders on festivals (San Remo and Spoleto).


This series has historical and contextual value because it reflects RFE/RL's intention to acquire and collect valuable information from various sources, including Western, that could be used in their daily information production process. Still, it is also an information source for current and future academic research to obtain new historical knowledge about the post-war Italian Republic during the late Cold War.

Accruals

Not Expected

System of arrangement

The collection is arranged by subjects alphabetically and chronologically. 

Conditions of Access and Use

Languages

English, Italian

Allied Materials

Related Units

https://catalog.osaarchivum.org/catalog/jE0b7KzX
https://catalog.osaarchivum.org/catalog/O8BABYzQ

Description Control

Archivist's note

Physically arranged and described by Robert Parnica in September 2023.