The period from 1969 until the early 1980s in Italy was one of great transformation of Italian society. The social tensions that arose from the economic boom years after the end of World War Two came to a head in the late Sixties with its starting point in the youth culture of Italian universities. These years of social protest and activism quickly turned into a major social and political crisis, which lead to more than a decade of both random and targeted terrorism in Italy. This course will discuss how the events of the 1960s brought about various violent responses to the building social tensions that caused the entire decade of the 1970s to be known as gli anni di piombo (the years of lead). Among the topics that will be discussed are the goals and methods of individuals and organizations that perpetrated the violence along with the responses from the Italian State and the Italian people during this Age of Terror.

Course Objectives:
To understand the social tensions of the 1960s and how they led to mass protests in Italy
To present the significant acts and the major protagonists of terrorism in 1970s Italy
To learn what groups and individuals were responsible for committing acts of violence
To analyze the methods and objectives of the various organizations responsible for the acts of terror
To discuss how and why the anni di piombo came to an end in the early 1980s

Lecture 1: "The Times They Are A-Changin’: From the Economic Miracle to the Strategy of Tension"
This lecture will cover the historical background and socio-political context of 1960s Italy leading up to the first acts of right-wing terrorism that opened the period known as gli anni di piombo (years of lead)

Lecture 2: "Left-wing extremism: The Red Brigades"
In this lecture, we will cover the origins and methods of left-wing terror organizations that would be a characterizing feature of the violence in the 1970s.

Lecture 3: "Aldo Moro and the end of the Age of Terror"
The final lecture will discuss the most iconic episode of the period – the kidnapping and eventual murder of Aldo Moro – and how that event would turn out to be the beginning of the end of the Age of Terror.