Arezzo
—  Comune  —
Comune di Arezzo
Piazza Grande; from left - S. Maria della Pieve, the old Tribunal Palace and the Lay Fraternity.
Arezzo Location of Arezzo in Italy
Coordinates: 43°28′24″N 11°52′12″E / 43.47333°N 11.87°E / 43.47333; 11.87Coordinates: 43°28′24″N 11°52′12″E / 43.47333°N 11.87°E / 43.47333; 11.87
Country	Italy
Region	Tuscany
Province	Arezzo (AR)
Frazioni	see list
Government
• Mayor	Giuseppe Fanfani (PD)
Area
• Total	386.25 km2 (149.13 sq mi)
Elevation	296 m (971 ft)
Population (30 April 2011)
• Total	100,455
• Density	260/km2 (670/sq mi)
Demonym	Aretini
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	52100
Dialing code	0575
Patron saint	Saint Donatus of Arezzo
Saint day	7 August
Website	Official website

Arezzo  listen (help·info) is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000.

Geography[link]

Arezzo is set on a steep hill rising from the floodplain of the River Arno. In the upper part of the town are the cathedral, the town hall and the Medici Fortress (Fortezza Medicea), from which the main streets branch off towards the lower part as far as the gates. The upper part of the town maintains its medieval appearance despite the addition of later structures.

History[link]

Described by Livy as one of the Capitae Etruriae (Etruscan capitals), Arezzo is believed to have been one of the twelve most important Etruscan cities—the so-called Dodecapolis. Etruscan remains establish that the acropolis of San Cornelio, a small hill next to that of San Donatus, was occupied and fortified in the Etruscan period. There is other significant Etruscan evidence: parts of walls, an Etruscan necropolis on Poggio del Sole (still named "Hill of the Sun"), and most famously, the two bronzes, the "Chimera of Arezzo" (5th century BC) and the "Minerva" (4th century BC) which were discovered in the 16th century and taken to Florence. Increasing trade connections with Greece also brought some elite goods to the Etruscan nobles of Arezzo: the krater painted by Euphronios ca 510 BC with a battle against Amazons (in the Museo Civico, Arezzo 1465) is unsurpassed.

Roman piece of pottery from Arezzo, Latium, found at Arikamedu in India (1st century AD), an evidence of the role of the city in Roman trade with India through Persia during the Augustan period. Musée Guimet.

Conquered by the Romans in 311 BC, Arretium became a military station on the via Cassia, the road to expansion by republican Rome into the basin of the Po. Arretium sided with Marius in the Roman Civil War, and the victorious Sulla planted a colony of his veterans in the half-demolished city, as Arretium Fidens ("Faithful Arretium"). The old Etruscan aristocracy was not extinguished: Gaius Cilnius Maecenas, whose name is eponymous with "patron of the arts", was of the noble Aretine Etruscan stock. The city continued to flourish as Arretium Vetus ("Old Arretium"), the third largest city in Italy in the Augustan period, well known in particular for its widely-exported pottery manufactures, the characteristic moulded and glazed Arretine ware, bucchero-ware of dark clay and red-painted vases (the so-called "coral" vases).

Around 26-261 AD the town council of Arezzo dedicated an inscription to its patron L. Petronius Taurus Volusianus. See that article for discussion of the possible political/military significance of Volusianus's association with the city.

In the 3rd to 4th century, Arezzo became an episcopal seat: it is one of the few cities whose succession of bishops are known by name without interruption to the present day, in part because they were the feudal lords of the city in the Middle Ages. The Roman city was demolished, partly through the Gothic War and the invasion of the Lombards, partly dismantled, as elsewhere throughout Europe, and the stones reused for fortifications by the Aretines. Only the amphitheater remained.

The commune of Arezzo threw off the control of its bishop in 1098 and was an independent city-state until 1384. Generally Ghibelline in tendency, it opposed Guelph Florence. In 1252 the city founded its university, the Studium. After the rout of the Battle of Campaldino (1289), which saw the death of Bishop Guglielmino Ubertini, the fortunes of Ghibelline Arezzo started to ebb, apart from a brief period under the Tarlati family, chief among them Guido Tarlati, who became bishop in 1312 and maintained good relations with the Ghibelline party. The Tarlati sought support in an alliance with Forlì and its overlords, the Ordelaffi, but failed: Arezzo yielded to Florentine domination in 1384; its individual history was subsumed by that of Florence and the Medicean Grand Duchy of Tuscany. During this period Piero della Francesca worked in the church of San Francesco di Arezzo producing the splendid frescoes, recently restored, which are Arezzo's most famous works. Afterwards the city began an economical and cultural decay, which fortunately ensured that its medieval centre was preserved.

In the 18th century the neighbouring marshes of the Val di Chiana, south of Arezzo, were drained and the region became less malarial. At the end of the century French troops led by Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Arezzo, but the city soon turned into a resistance base against the invaders with the "Viva Maria" movement, winning the city the role of provincial capital. In 1860 Arezzo became part of the Kingdom of Italy. City buildings suffered heavy damage during World War II.^{[citation needed]}

Pope Benedict XVI will visit Arezzo and two other Italian municipalities on Sunday, May 13, 2012.^[1]

Main sights[link]

Piazza Grande.

Aerial view.

City wall.

The Vasari Loggia on Piazza Grande.

Cathedral of Arezzo.

The Communal Palace in Arezzo.

Church of San Domenico.

Santa Maria della Pieve.

Cimabue's Crucifix in the church of San Domenico, 1265/1268.

The Tarlati polyptych by Pietro Lorenzetti, 1320, at Santa Maria della Pieve, includes a depiction of Donatus of Arezzo (far left)

Amphitheatre.

Piazza Grande[link]

The Piazza Grande is the most noteworthy medieval square in the city, opening behind the 13th century Romanesque apse of Santa Maria della Pieve. Once the main marketplace of the city, it is currently the site of the Giostra del Saracino ("Joust of the Saracen"). It has a sloping pavement in red brick with limestone geometrical lines. Aside from the apse of the church, other landmarks of the square include:

• The Palace of the Lay Fraternity (Fraternita dei Laici): 14th-15th century palazzo, with a Gothic ground floor and a quattrocento second floor by Bernardo Rossellino.
• The Vasari Loggia along the north side, a flat Mannerist façade designed by Giorgio Vasari.
• Episcopal Palace, seat of the bishops, rebuilt in the mid-13th century. The interior has frescoes by Salvi Castellucci, Teofilo Torri, and Pietro Benvenuti. In front of the Palace is the Monument to Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici (1595), by Pietro Francavilla, following a design of Giambologna.
• Palazzo Cofani-Brizzolari, with the Torre Faggiolana.
• Remains of the Communal Palace and the Palazzo del Popolo can also be seen.

Churches[link]

• Romanesque church of Santa Maria della Pieve. Its most striking feature is the massive, square-planned bell tower with double orders of mullioned windows. The church was built in the 12th century over a pre-existing Palaeo-Christian edifice, and renovated a century later with the addition of the characteristic façade made of loggias with small arches surmounted by all different-styled columns. Also from the same century is the lunette with the Virgin between Two Angels and the sculptures of the months (1216) over the main portal. the interior has a nave and two aisles, with a transept also added in the 13th century. In the following century chapels, niches and frescoes were added, including the polyptych of Virgin with Child and Saints by Pietro Lorenzetti (1320). In the crypt is a relic bust of St. Donatus (1346). From the same epoch is the hexagonal baptismal font, with panels of the Histories of St. John the Baptist, by Giovanni d'Agostino. The Pieve was again renovated by Giorgio Vasari in 1560.
• the Gothic Cathedral of Saint Donatus (13th-early 16th centuries). The façade remained unfinished, and was added in the 20th century. The interior has a nave and aisles divided by massive pilasters. The left aisle has a fresco by Piero della Francesca portraying the Madeleine. Noteworthy are also the medieval stained glass, the Tarlati Chapel (1334) and the Gothic tomb of Pope Gregory X.
• Basilica of San Francesco (13th-14th centuries), in Tuscan-Gothic style. Of the projectd façade cover in sculpted stone only the lower band was completed. The interior has a single nave: the main attraction is the History of the True Cross fresco (1453–1464) cycle by Piero della Francesca in the Bacci Chapel. Under the church is another Basilica with a nave and two aisles (Basilica inferiore), today used for art exhibitions.
• Basilica of San Domenico (founded in 1275 and completed in the early 14th century). The interior has a single nave with a Crucifix by Cimabue, a masterwork of 13th century Italian art. Other artworks include a Sts. Philip and James the Younger and St. Catherine by Spinello Aretino and other 14th century painting and sculpture decorations.
• church of San Michele, with a modern façade. Traces of the original Romanesque edifice and the Gothic restoration can be seen in the interior.
• Santa Maria in Gradi is a medieval church from the 11th or the 12th century, but was rebuilt in the late 16th century by Bartolomeo Ammannati. The interior has a single nave with stone altars (17th century) and a Madonna of Misericordia, terracotta by Andrea della Robbia.
• Church of St. Augustine, founded in 1257, modified in the late 15th and the late 18h centuries. The façade and the interior decoration are largely from Baroque times. The square plan bell tower is from the 15th century.
• Badia di SS. Flora e Lucilla (12th century). Built by Benedictine monks in the 12th century, it was totally restored in the 16th century under the direction of Giorgio Vasari. The octagonal bell tower is from 1650. The interior, in Mannerist style, has an illusionistic canvas depicting a false dome by Andrea Pozzo (1702). There are also a St. Lawrence fresco by Bartolomeo della Gatta (1476) and a Crucifix by Segna di Buonaventura (1319).
• San Lorenzo, one of the most ancient of the city, having been built before the year 1000, most likely in Palaeo-Christian times. Rebuilt in the 13th century and restored in 1538, it was totally rebuilt in 1705. The apse exterior is in Romanesque style.
• Santa Maria delle Grazie, a late Gothic sanctuary with a Renaissance portal by Benedetto da Maiano (1490). It has also a marble high altar by Andrea della Robbia including a pre-existing fresco by Parri di Spinello (1428–1431). The sanctuary was built over a font dedicated to Apollo, which was destroyed by San Bernardino of Siena in 1428, building an oratory in its place. The church was erected in 1435–1444 and has a chapel entitled to St. Bernardino.
• Santa Maria a Gradi (1591), a monastery existing already in 1043. It has a Baroque interior, but with an altar by a collaborator of Andrea della Robbia.
• Church of Santissima Trinità. Built in 1348, it was totalle renovated in 1723–1748 in Baroque style. It houses a 14th century Crucifix, a banner painted by Giorgio Vasari in 1572, a painting of Noli me tangere by Alessandro Allori (1584) and other artworks.
• Santa Maria Maddalena, built in 1561 over a pre-14th century structure. It houses a Madonna with Child (Madonna of the Rose) by Spinello Aretino, visible in the high altar (c. 1525) designed by Guillaume de Marcillat. It is now private property.
• Pieve di San Paolo, in San Paolo, erected as Palaeo-Christian baptismal church, rebuilt in the 8th-9th centuries and then rebuilt in Romanesque style in the 13th century. The bell tower is from the 14th-15th centuries. The entire church was again renovated after the 1796 earthquake. It has kept 15th-century frescoes by Lorentino d'Andrea and a cyborium. The transept entrance has granite columns with marble capitals from the 5th century AD.
• Pieve di Sant'Eugenia al Bagnoro, in Bagnoro. Documented from 1012, it was one of the most important pievi of the diocese during the Middle Ages. The presbytery area is from the 12th century, while the rest is from the 11th century. The bell tower, partially ruined, stands on one of the three apses.
• Pieve di San Donnino a Maiano, at Palazzo del Pero (6th-9th centuries). Documented from 1064, it replaced a Palaeo-Christian baptismal church. The fronal part was rebuilt in the 14th century. The apse has 15th century frescoes and a wooden Madonna with Child from the same age.

Others[link]

• Roman amphitheatre and museum.
• Palazzo dei Priori, erected in 1333, has been the seat of the city's magistratures until today. The edifice was numerous times restored and renovated; the interior has a court from the 16th century, a stone statue portraying a Madonna with Child (1339), frescoes, busts of illustrious Aretines, two paintings by Giorgio Vasari. The square tower is from 1337.
• Medici Fortress (Fortezza Medicea), designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and completed in 1538–1560. It was partly dismantled by the French in the early 19th century.
• Palazzo Camaiani-Albergotti (14th century, renovated in the 16th century), with the Torre della Bigazza.
• Palazzo Bruni-Ciocchi, Renaissance edifice attributed to Bernardo Rossellino. It is seat of the State Museum of Medieval and Modern Art.
• Palazzo Pretorio, which was seat of the People's Captain until 1290. The façade has coat of armas of the captains, podestà and commissaries of the city from 14th to 18th century. Only one of the two original towers remains.
• House of Petrarch (Casa del Petrarca).
• Casa Vasari (in Via XX Settembre) an older house rebuilt in 1547 by Giorgio Vasari and frescoed by him; now open as a museum, it also contains 16th-century archives. The main rooms were decorated by Vasari in an illusionist manner. the drawing room, where Vasare painted the life journey of an artist, with the artistic virtues protected by the gods of antiquite represented as heavenly bodies, is remarkable.
• Ivan Bruschi House and Museum (Casa-Museo "Ivan Bruschi").
• Gaio Cilnio Mecenate Archeological Museum.
• Civic Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.
• UnoAErre Jewelry Museum

Festivals[link]

• Arezzo is home to an annual international competition of choral singing Concorso Polifónico Guido d'Arezzo (International Guido d'Arezzo Polyphonic Contest)
• Arezzo is home to an annual medieval festival called the Saracen Joust (Giostra del Saracino). In this, "knights" on horseback representing different areas of the town charge at a wooden target attached to a carving of a Saracen king and score points according to accuracy. Virtually all the town's people dress-up in medieval costume and enthusiastically cheer on the competitors.
• From 1986 to 2006 Arezzo was also home to an annual popular music and culture festival, each July, called Arezzo Wave. Publicly funded, it attracts bands of high repute and attendees from all over Europe and North America. It also features literary and film expositions. In 2007 it was replaced by PLAY Arezzo Art Festival, still about rock music. Some artist invited in 2007 and 2008 are: Negrita,Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Joan Baez, Ben Harper, Goran Bregovic, Carmen Consoli, Max Gazzè, Peter Brook.

In popular culture[link]

• Arezzo has a starring role in Roberto Benigni's film Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella, 1997). It is the place in which the main characters live before they are shipped off to a Nazi concentration camp.
• Arretium was used in the PC game Rome: Total War as the Capital of the Roman Faction of Julii.
• Dylan and Cole Sprouse were born here in 1992.

Famous residents[link]

See Category:People from Arezzo, which includes people actually born in town.

• Guido d'Arezzo, the most notable music theorist of the Middle Ages and inventor of modern music notation, was born there around the year 991.
• Bartolomeo di ser Gorello, author of the first town chronicle of Arezzo.
• Piero della Francesca, the painter, was born in the province of Arezzo and spent most of his life in the city.
• Petrarch, the poet.
• Pietro Aretino,author, playwright, poet and satirist who wielded immense influence on contemporary art and politics and invented modern literate pornography.
• Giorgio Vasari, the painter, architect, and biographer.
• Francesco Redi, a 17th century physician.
• In addition, Poggio Bracciolini and Michelangelo were born near the town.
• Negrita (band), a Rock, Blues, Latin Music Band.
• Daniele Bennati, cyclist.
• Federico Luzzi, Former ATP Tennis Player
• Luc Ferrari, Avant Garde Composer
• Dylan and Cole Sprouse, American actors, starring in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck

Sports[link]

• Associazione Calcio Arezzo (A.C. Arezzo)
• Vasari Rugby Arezzo
• Club sommozzatori Calypso - Federazione Italiana Attività Subacquee - Sez. Terr. Arezzo (diving)

Hamlets[link]

Agazzi, Antria, Badia San Veriano, Bagnoro, Battifolle, Campoluci, Campriano, Capolona, Ceciliano, Chiani, Chiassa Superiore, Cincelli, Frassineto, Gaville, Giovi, Gragnone, Il Matto, Indicatore, La Pace, Le Poggiola, Meliciano, Misciano, Molinelli, Molin Nuovo, Monte Sopra Rondine, Montione, Mugliano, Olmo, Ottavo, Palazzo del Pero, Patrignone, Pieve a Ranco, Poggio Ciliegio, Policiano, Pomaio, Ponte a Chiani, Ponte alla Chiassa, Pieve a Quarto, Ponte Buriano, Poti, Pratantico, Puglia, Policiano, Quarata, Rigutino, Ripa di Olmo, Rondine, Ruscello, San Firenze, San Giuliano, San Leo, San Marco Vill'Alba, San Polo, Santa Firmina, Santa Maria alla Rassinata, Sant'Andrea a Pigli, San Zeno, Sargiano, Staggiano, Stoppe d'Arca, Subbiano, Torrino, Tregozzano, Venere, Vitiano.

International relations[link]

University of Oklahoma campus in Arezzo[link]

An United States based university, the University of Oklahoma, has a branch campus in Arezzo, The Italian Center of the University of Oklahoma.

On September 10, 2010, the University of Oklahoma Foundation (a Nonprofit organization organized for the purpose of receiving and administering gifts for the benefit of the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma) purchased the Monastery of St. Clare of the Order of Poor Clares (Monastero Di S. Chiara Dell’Ordine Della Clarisse) in Arezzo, Italy. The building will be leased from the foundation by the University. Operation and renovation of the monastery will be by the University. ^[2].

The former Monastery, built in the 18th Century, will be used as a permanent campus for the University, which currently has three other campuses in the State of Oklahoma located in: the main campus in Norman, the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, and the OU-Schusterman Center in Tulsa. Zach Messite, PhD, Dean of the University’s College of International Studies, said that the Arezzo Campus programs are designed to provide students with a unique exposure to the local culture; “As a way to foster a relationship between the campus and the city, students will be required to take a class that gets them involved with the (local) community” ^[3]

Sister Cities[link]

Arezzo is twinned with:

Arezzo participates in town twinning and friendship links with foreign towns.

• Bedford, United Kingdom (friendship link)
• Montenars, Italy, since 1977
• Saint-Priest, France, since 1981
• Eger, Hungary, since 1989
• Jaén, Spain since 2006
• Norman, USA, since 2009
• Oświęcim, Poland, since May–June 2009
• Mount Pleasant, USA, since November 27, 2010

See also[link]

• Gian Francesco Gamurrini, an early Etruscologist.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Arezzo

• Arezzo travel guide from Wikitravel
• Official Website (Italian)
• Informations about Arezzo and province (Italian)
• Giostra del Saracino official web site and Photos of Arezzo and the Joust
• Porta Crucifera's Knights the official site of the Porta Crucifera quartiere - Joust of the Saracen
• Bill Thayer's site including George Dennis's chapter on the Etruscan city and further links
• Arezzo Turismo Informations about Arezzo and Province (Italian)

References[link]

1. ^ http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/29102.php?index=29102&lang=en
2. ^ "The University of Oklahoma Foundation Consolidated Financial Statement June 30, 2011 and 2010, Note 8". http://www.oufoundation.org/05_Audit_Report.pdf. 
3. ^ "Allen, Silas. University of Oklahoma renovates Tuscan monastery for use as overseas campus. Daily Oklahoman, April 22, 2012". http://newsok.com/university-of-oklahoma-renovates-tuscan-monastery-for-use-as-overseas-campus/article/3668454#ixzz1sz8saA7L. Retrieved 2012/4/24. 

Leonardo Pieraccioni

Leonardo Pieraccioni (born 17 February 1965) is an Italian film director, actor, and screenwriter.

Born in Florence, he made his directorial debut on Italian TV in 1995, directing I laureati. His most successful film so far has been 1996's The Cyclone.

Also a writer of short stories, his books include: Trent'anni, alta, mora (1998), Tre mucche in cucina (2002) and A un passo dal cielo (2003). Pieraccioni has starred with Suzie Kennedy, the impersonator of Marilyn Monroe, in I & Marilyn.

Filmography[link]

Director[link]

• I laureati (Graduates, 1995)
• The Cyclone, 1996)
• Fuochi d'artificio (Fireworks, 1997)
• Il pesce innamorato (1999)
• The prince and the pirate, 2001)
• Il paradiso all'improvviso (Suddenly Paradise , 2003)
• Ti amo in tutte le lingue del mondo (2005)
• Una moglie bellissima (2007)
• Io e Marilyn (2009)
• Finalmente la felicità (2011)

Actor[link]

• Zitti e mosca (The Party's Over, 1991)
• Bonus malus (1993)
• Miracolo italiano (1994)
• I laureati (1995)
• Il ciclone (1996)
• Fuochi d'artificio (1997)
• Viola bacia tutti (Viola Kisses Everybody ,1998)
• Il mio West (Gunslinger's Revenge ,1998)
• Il pesce innamorato (1999)
• The prince and the pirate (2001)
• Il paradiso all'improvviso (2003)
• Ti amo in tutte le lingue del mondo (2005)
• Una moglie bellissima (2007)
• Io e Marilyn (2009)

Screenwriter[link]

• I laureati (1995)
• The cyclone(1996)
• Fuochi d'artificio (1997)
• Il mio West (1998)
• Il pesce innamorato (1999)
• The prince and the pirate (2001)
• Il paradiso all'improvviso (2003)
• Una moglie bellissima (2007)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Leonardo Pieraccioni

• Leonardo Pieraccioni at the Internet Movie Database

Licio Gelli (born April 21, 1919) is an Italian financier, chiefly known for his role in the Banco Ambrosiano scandal. He was revealed in 1981 as being the Venerable Master of the clandestine Masonic lodge Propaganda Due (P2). He was born in Pistoia, Tuscany.

Fascist volunteer[link]

During the 1930s, Gelli volunteered for the "Black Shirts" expeditionary forces sent by Mussolini to Spain in support of Francisco Franco's rebellion,^[1] and subsequently became a liaison officer between the Italian government and the Third Reich, with contacts including Hermann Göring. He participated in the Italian Social Republic with Giorgio Almirante, founder of the neofascist Italian Social Movement (MSI).^[2][3]

After a sales job with the Italian mattress factory Permaflex, Gelli founded his own textile and importing company.^[1][3]

After World War II[link]

Gelli collaborated with American and British intelligence agencies after World War II. Gelli also joined the neofascist MSI, which gave him parliamentary immunity. In 1970, during the failed Golpe Borghese, he was delegated the role of arresting the Italian President, Giuseppe Saragat.^[4] As grand master of the Propaganda Due (P2) masonic lodge, Gelli had ties with very high level personalities in Italy and abroad, in particular in Argentina. The Argentine Chancellor Alberto Vignes drafted with Juan Perón, who had returned from exile in 1973, a decree granting Gelli the Gran Cruz de la Orden del Libertador in August 1974, as well as the honorary office of economic counselor in the embassy of Argentina in Italy.^[5] According to a letter sent by Gelli to César de la Vega, a P2 member and Argentine ambassador to the UNESCO, Gelli commissioned P2 member Federico Carlos Barttfeld to be transferred from the consulate of Hamburg to the Argentine embassy in Rome.^[5] Licio Gelli was also named minister plenipotentiary for cultural affairs in the Argentine embassy in Italy, thus providing him with diplomatic immunity.^[5] He had four diplomatic passports issued by Argentina, and has been charged in Argentina with falsification of official documents.^[5]

During the 1970s, Gelli brokered three-way oil and arms deals between Libya, Italy and Argentina through the Agency for Economic Development, which he and Umberto Ortolani owned.^[6]

As grand master of Propaganda Due, Gelli allegedly assumed a major role in Gladio's "strategy of tension" in Italy, starting with the 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing. Gladio was a clandestine "stay-behind" operation sponsored by the CIA and NATO to counter communist influence in Western European countries; it has been involved in terrorist false flags operations in Italy.^{[7][8][9][10]}

In 1990, a report on RAI Television alleged that the CIA had paid Licio Gelli to foment terrorist activities in Italy.^[11] Following this report, which also claimed that the CIA had been involved in the assassination of the Swedish Prime minister Olof Palme, then President Francesco Cossiga requested the opening of investigations while the CIA itself officially denied these allegations.^[12] Critics have claimed the RAI report to be a fraud because of the inclusion of testimony from Richard Brenneke, who claimed to be a former CIA agent and made several declarations concerning the October surprise conspiracy. Brenneke's background was also investigated by a U.S. Senate subcommittee, which dismissed Brenneke's claims of CIA employment.^[13] On November 23, 1995, the Court of Cassation (Corte di Cassazione) convicted Licio Gelli (grand master of P2), Francesco Pazienza and SISMI officers Pietro Musumeci and Giuseppe Belmonte of diverting investigations in relation to the Bologna Massacre.

The 1981 raid & the P2 list[link]

Licio Gelli's downfall started with the Banco Ambrosiano scandal, which led to a 1981 police raid on his villa and the discovery of the P2 covert lodge. On March 17, 1981, a police raid on his villa in Arezzo led to the discovery of a list of 962 persons composed of Italian military officers and civil servants involved in Propaganda Due (also known as "P2"), a clandestine lodge expelled from the Grande Oriente d'Italia Masonic organization.^[14] A list of alleged adherents was found by the police in Gelli's house in Arezzo in March 1981, containing 962 names, among which were important state officials, some important politicians and a number of military officers, including the heads of the three Italian secret services.^[15] Future Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was on the list, although he had not yet entered politics at the time. He was then just starting to gain popularity as the founder and owner of "Canale 5" TV channel, was listed as a member of P2.^[16]

The national scandal that ensued was quite thrilling, given that most of the most delicate affairs of the republic were controlled by Gelli's affiliates. A Parliamentary Commission, directed by Tina Anselmi (of the Christian Democratic party), found no evidence of crimes, but in 1981 the Italian parliament passed a law banning secret associations in Italy. Gelli was expelled from GOI freemasonry on October 31, 1981, and the P2 scandal provoked the fall of Arnaldo Forlani's cabinet in June 1981 ^[17]

The P2 lodge did undoubtedly have some form of power in Italy, given the public prominence of its members, and many observers still consider it to be extremely strong. Several famous people in Italy today (starting with the top TV anchor-man Maurizio Costanzo) were affiliated with P2. Among these Michele Sindona, a banker with clear connections to the Mafia, has been clearly associated with P2. In 1972, Sindona purchased a controlling interest in Long Island's Franklin National Bank. Two years later, the bank collapsed.^[18] Convicted in 1980 in the USA, "mysterious Michele" was extradited to Italy. Two years later, he was poisoned in his cell while serving a life sentence.^[19][20] The P2 membership list was authenticated, with a few exceptions, by a 1984 parliamentary report.^[21]

On the run, Licio Gelli escaped to Switzerland where he was arrested on September 13, 1982 while trying to withdraw tens of millions of dollars in Geneva.^[17] Detained in the modern Champ-Dollon Prison near Geneva, he managed to escape^[22] and then fled to South America for four years. In 1984 Jorge Vargas, the secretary general of the Union Nacionalista de Chile (UNACH, Nationalist Union of Chile, a short-lived National Socialist party ^[23]) and a former member of the Movimiento Revolucionario Nacional Sindicalista (National-Syndicalist Revolutionary Movement ^[23]), declared to La Tercera de la Hora that Gelli was then in Chile.^[24]

Finally, Gelli surrendered in 1987 in Switzerland to investigative judge Jean-Pierre Trembley.^[25] He was wanted in connection with the 1982 collapse of the Banco Ambrosiano ^[26] and on charges of subversive association in connection with the 1980 Bologna railway station bombing, which killed 85 people.^[26][27]

He was sentenced to two months in prison in Switzerland,^[28] while an Italian court in Florence sentenced him on December 15, 1987, in absentia, to 8 years in prison on charges of financing right-wing terrorist activity in Tuscany in the 1970s.^[29] Gelli had already been sentenced in absentia to 14 months in jail by a court in San Remo for illegally exporting money from Italy.^[29]

Extradition to Italy and trials[link]

Switzerland eventually agreed to extradite him to Italy, but only on financial charges stemming from the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano. Gelli's extradition in February 1988 required a high-level security apparatus, including 100 sharpshooters, decoy cars, a train, road blocks and two armored cars to transfer him to Italy.^[30] In July 1988 he was absolved of charges of subversive association by a Bologna court but was presented with a five-year prison term for slander, having side-tracked the investigation into the 1980 bombing of the Bologna train station. However, stipulations connected to his extradition prevented him from serving time.^[31][32] Two years later, an appeal court threw out Gelli's slander conviction.^[33] A retrial was ordered in October 1993.^[34]

In 1992 Licio Gelli was sentenced to 18 years and six months of prison after being found guilty of fraud concerning the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano in 1982 (a "black hole" of $1.4 billion was found). The Vatican bank, Istituto per le Opere di Religione, main share-holder of the Banco Ambrosiano, consequently had a "black hole" of $250 million. This sentence was reduced by the Court of Appeal to 12 years.

The year 1992 also saw the beginning of the trial of 16 members of the P2 Masonic Lodge, which included charges of conspiracy against the state, espionage, and the revelation of state secrets.^[35] In April 1994, Gelli received a 17-year sentence for divulging state secrets and slandering the investigation, while the court threw out the charge that P2 members conspired against the state;^[36] Gelli's sentence was reduced, and he was placed under house arrest two years later.^[37]

In April 1998, the Court of Cassation confirmed a 12 year sentence for the Ambrosiano crash.^[38] Gelli then disappeared on the eve of being imprisoned, in May 1998, while being under house arrest in his mansion near Arezzo.^[38] His disappearance was strongly suspected to be the result of being forewarned. Then, finally, he was arrested in the French Riviera in Cannes.

Two motions of no confidence were made by the right-wing opposition (the Northern League and the ex-Christian Democratic splinter groups CDU-CDR), against the Justice Minister, Giovanni Maria Flick, and the Interior Minister, Giorgio Napolitano, stating that Gelli had benefited from accomplices helping him in his escape. They also made reference to secret negotiations which would have allowed him to reappear without going to prison. But the two ministers won the confidence vote.^[39]

Police found $2M worth of gold ingots in Gelli's villa.^[40][41]

A few years after the Ambrosiano scandal, many suspects pointed toward Gelli with reference to his possible involvement in the murder of the Milanese banker Roberto Calvi, also known as "God's banker", who had been jailed in the wake of the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano. On July 19, 2005, Gelli was formally indicted by Roman Magistrates for the murder of Roberto Calvi, along with former Mafia boss Giuseppe Calò (also known as "Pippo Calò"), businessmen Ernesto Diotallevi and Flavio Carboni, and the latter's girlfriend, Manuela Kleinszig. In his statement before the court Gelli blamed people connected with Calvi's work in financing the Polish Solidarity movement, allegedly on behalf of the Vatican. He was accused of having provoked Calvi's death in order to punish him for having embezzled money owed to him and the Mafia. The Mafia also wanted to prevent Calvi from revealing how the bank had been used for money laundering.

Gelli has been implicated in Aldo Moro's murder, since the Italian chief of intelligence, accused of negligence, was a piduista (P2 member).

Connections to Argentina's military junta[link]

A fugitive in Argentina for many years, Licio Gelli publicly declared on repeated occasions that he was a close friend of Argentina's leader Juan Peron, although no confirmation ever came from South America, and he often affirmed, without ever explicitly explaining why, that this friendship was of real importance for Italy. Several members of the Argentine military junta have been found to be P2 members, such as Raúl Alberto Lastiri, Argentina's interim president from July 13, 1973 until October 12, 1973, Emilio Massera, part of Jorge Videla's military junta from 1976 to 1978, and José López Rega, the infamous founder of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance ("Triple A").

Nomination for Nobel Prize in Literature[link]

In 1996, Gelli was nominated as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature.^[2]

2003 interview[link]

In 2003, Gelli told La Repubblica that it seemed that the P2 "democratic rebirth plan" was being implemented by Silvio Berlusconi:

Every morning I speak to my conscience and the dialogue calms me down. I look at the country, read the newspaper, and think: "All is becoming a reality little by little, piece by piece. To be truthful, I should have had the copyright to it. Justice, TV, public order. I wrote about this thirty years ago... Berlusconi is an extraordinary man, a man of action. This is what Italy needs: not a man of words, but a man of action.

He talked of many Italian politicians. Of Fabrizio Cicchitto he said he knew him well (è bravo, preparato - "he's good and capable"). With regard to Berlusconi's program for the reform of the judicial system, he boasted that this had been an integral part of his original project. He also approved of Berlusconi's reorganization of TV networks.^[2]

Film[link]

In December 2007 Licio Gelli signed a life rights agreement with New York based producer Gabor Harrach. The movie (working title 'Conspirator') is in development.

See also[link]

• Propaganda Due
• Strategy of tension
• Operation Gladio
• Dirty War
• Hands of Perón

References[link]

• Ginsborg, Paul (2003). Italy and Its Discontents, London: Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 1-4039-6152-2 (Review Institute of Historical Research | Review New York Times)

External links[link]

• Site of Italian newspaper "Il Piave" where Gelli writes regularly