The News

Unemployment in Italy is at a near record high, and a disconnect between lawmakers and the electorate in Italy is growing with opposition virtually dominated by anti-Berlusconi rhetoric.
Italy's "Dolce Vita" is turning bitter. Analysts believe much-needed economic growth might still be years away.
Meanwhile, grass-roots political movements are cashing in on this grim state of affairs – and among them, neo-fascist ones.
Casa Pound is Italy's most prominent and fast-growing radical-right movement. Its headquarters is located in the Esquilino quarter, the multicultural, multi-ethnic heart of Rome – a bustling community of Asian, Middle-Eastern and North African residents living side-by-side.
Named after US poet Ezra Pound, an unwavering supporter of Mussolini's fascist regime, the headquarters is home to 70 of the movement's members.
The walls are covered with the names and posters of their heroes, including some surprisingly taken from leftist milieu, such as Che Guevara.
Casa Pound's support has grown alongside the unemployment rate. A staggering 29 per cent of Italian youths are currently without a job. Italy is a country of old people. It is hard for the young to find a job, or make their voices heard. We are not only a generation deprived of our future, but also of our present," says student Francesco Polacchi.
But Casa Pound's present, with its brand of revamped "third-millennium fascism", as its members shamelessly put it, is one of rapid growth, in direct contrast to the country’s economy.
Through its intense agenda of discussion forums, ear-splitting rock concerts and squat actions, the movement is on the up and up. A recent membership campaign gathered over 2,500 paying supporters on just its first day.

Gianluca Iannone, Casa Pound leader, believes that fascism “was a grand period in Italy's past”.

But members also claim they are an anti-racist, anti-discrimination movement.
But are they just playing the political correctness game? Some fear this might be the case.

"Casa Pound is a dangerous phenomenon. I received a threat, over the phone, when I opposed public funding to a concert they organized in Rome. They sang me some intimidating lyrics of one of their bands' songs, then hung up," says Fabio Nobile from Left Federation Party.

The movement's members deny any wrongdoing, and claim the media and leftist politicians are misrepresenting them.

Entrevista a Casapound

December 1st, 2010

For several years, CasaPound has been an inspiration for nationalists all over Europe. Weblog Oskorei would like to thank our Italian comrades for their inspiring work and for the following interview:

When and how was Casapound born?

Officially, Casapound was born on december 26th, 2003 with the occupation of a building Via Napoleone III in Rome. This occupation was performed by a group of visionary heretics linked together by the same vision of the world. In 2008, on the day of the solstice, Casapound Italia was born. It’s a web, throughout Italy, of bookstores, gyms, pubs, men and women not easily understood in a world of blinkered thinking.

What inspired the creation of Casapound?

For the challenges that come from struggle, the weight of experiences, the fascination of adventure, the priority given to social justice. All of this inspired the birth and rise of our community.

Why did you choose the name « Casa Pound » ?

We chose it to honour the memory of a great American, Ezra Pound, who was a poet, an economist, an artist and a fascist.

Are you linked to other organizations?

No, we don’t have political links with any right wing organization in Italy. We have friendly and respectful relations with many European groups.

Casapound is known for various social actions. Can you explain it to our readers?

Casapound is based around four principles: culture, solidarity, sport and (obviously) politics. These four domains can be seen as social actions in one way or another.

CPI organize book presentations, plays, concerts, debates about movies and has a monthly publication (Occidentale).

CPI fight against the crooks in our nation regardless of their political stance. For example: We are with the workers of ALITALIA who simultaneously filled fountains all around Italy with bottles containing the message “ SOS wreckage”. We also organized actions in hundreds of FIAT stores in order to bring light to the deceptive conduct of FIAT towards its workers. We filled Rome with dummies holding signs denouncing the high cost of living, rent, the power of banks and construction mafia. CPI interrupted TV shows that wanted to incriminate us in the events that happened Piazza Navona two years ago. CPI demonstrated a mock assassination of Santa Claus outside the banks.

CPI created low cost sporting clubs which help us in our fight against drugs and cheap cultural models. We have a soccer team in Lecce, a hockey team in Bolzano, and a rugby school/team in Rome which was born out of the occupation of Casa d’Italia Colleverde. In Rome we also have a water-polo team which after only two years will start in the B league. A few months ago, we also started a boxing club. Istinto Rapace was created in order to promote parachuting at an affordable price. We also give scuba diving lessons with our club “Diavoli di mare”. Our motorcycle club “Scudere 7punto1” also organizes social activities. On top of this, we have a mountain excursion club called “Muvra” which teach caving and mountain-climbing.

All of these initiatives demonstrate that we are a group, we live, we do sport, we fight and we are active also the during crises, such as the earthquake in l’Aquila. This experience led to the creation of disaster and emergency services within CPI. Their first official task was to help people in the north of Italy after the flooding.

Is it important for a nationalist also to have an ecological and social mind?

A nationalist that would not be interested in ecology and social causes would be an imitation.

What are the reactions of the left wing and the system toward your organization?

After years, we have garnered a lot of sympathy outside of our movement but the powers that be and their guardians consider CPI as something dangerous. This can only please us…

You managed to create a form of living counter-culture (I am personally a big fan of Zetazeroalfa). In Scandinavia we are still working on this. Do you have any suggestions to give us?

We think that we have to renew the language, symbolism, esthetics… if we can’t communicate with “the others” it is not always their fault. We try to communicate in a radical mode and renew our dream. We want to launch it and give it a new spin. It could be through music or art.

You also created a student organization, “Blocco Studentesco”, it is something we would like to start in Scandinavia. Do you have any suggestions you could give to our readers?

The “Blocco” currently has great success within schools and in universities. It comes after the work I mentioned earlier. We reformulated
our fight under the rule of the three E’s: Ethic, Epic, Esthetic.

In what ways is Casapound different from a political party?

Political parties are ruled by mediocrity. Their aim is to conquer seats. They suffer from a modern illness called democracy and, in its final stage, they suffer form the syndrome of being accepted… CPI is a group of individuals that don’t ask what to say or to do. The political parties are stuck in bureaucracy. CPI is agile. The parties are dead and want to please. CPI is liked because it’s alive… and doesn’t care.

What are your future objectives?

Retake everything.

Nessun Dolore

Do nascimento da CasaPound aos confrontos da Piazza Navona, um romance sobre os fascistas do terceiro milénio e a sua grande história de amizade. Flavio e Giorgio, encontram-se pela primeira vez em frente à escola e tornam-se amigos no estádio Olímpico quando Flavio tenta entrar sem bilhete. São filhos de Roma, mas de bairros diferentes. Flavio é do norte da cidade, um bom bairro. O seu futuro está já definido pelos seus pais, bons estudos, um mestrado nos Estados Unidos e certamente um dia um belo lugar na empresa familiar da família. Giorgio, por seu turno, cresceu na Garbatella, um bairro popular, antes de ficar na moda e de ele ser expulso com a sua família. Vai viver, com a mãe e o irmão, para a CasaPound, o edifício que se tornou o coração “negro” da capital. Nesse dia, no entanto, não há diferenças entre eles, são adeptos numa missão e é o começo de uma amizade indestrutível, que vai cimentar-se durante um concerto de Zetazeroalfa. Na CasaPound, viverão no seio de uma comunidade orgânica, regida por regras simples mas estritas (nada de drogas, de armas ou de crime). Empreenderão as suas batalhas, políticas e de rua, lado a lado. Giorgio e Flavio tornar-se-ão os chefes carismáticos do Blocco Studentesco, a organização juvenil da CasaPound nos liceus e nas universidades.

Domenico Di Tullio nasceu em Roma em 1969. É o advogado penalista que defende a CasaPound. Em 2006, publicou o livro «Centro sociali di destra. Occupazioni e culture non conformi» [Centros sociais de direita. Ocupações e culturas não-conformes].

Domenico Di Tullio, Nessun dolore, Il romanzo di Casapound [Nenhuma dor, o romance da CasaPound], 238 páginas, € 16,50. (publicado pela Rizzoli, uma das maiores editoras italianas).

CASAPOUND