The Republic (Part I)

marked a triumph of continuity; the symbols and rhetoric may have changed but the old government personnel and institutions remained the same

Christian Democrats gain 207 of the 556 delegates

abdicated to his son Umberto II, hoping to strengthen the support for the monarchy

resulted in the overwhelming victory of the Christian Democrats; only time in the history of the Republic when a single party secured the absolute majority

contained many inconsistencies

estates in much of southern Italy and parts of the centre and north too

close to a million families never ate meat of sugar, and almost a quarter of the total population was designated 'poor'

the consolidation of the state helped the growth of the Christian Democrats and freed them of their dependence on the Church; mirrored the expansion of the fascist party

reduces Communist revolutionary threat against the Christian Democrats

largely due to the strong support of Italian integration from founding member of the Christian Democrats, Alcide De Gaspari

investments in manufacturing rise by an average of 14% a year; scooter industry appears from nowhere

increase on average of 14.4 % per annum, doubles in EEC countries

marked the start of a profound reappraisal of the Church's role in society; orthodoxies became outdated and were challenged

comments on the newfound glamour of 1950s Italy, built upon the poverty of the previous era

ideal backdrop for negotiations with the Socialists

hope for major reforms in areas such as housing and education that would reduce the gap between North and South was not achieved as expected

an envisaged plot for an Italian coup in 1964, planned by then director of the military police, Giovanni De Lorenzo

in 1958 it was only 13%

occurred amongst university students with anger directed at the educational system, but was also an expression of more fundamental grievances and Marxist thought; disruption of lectures, sit-ins, and clashes with the police

series of protest movements similar to those in Paris and Washington instigated by many causes such as a fashion for Marxism, rejection of authority, and anger over the Vietnam War; however, militant opposition to the state continued in Italy after it abated elsewehere

after years of inaction, huge waves of strikes, factory occupations, and demonstrations sweep through the country culminating in the Hot Autumn of 1969

culmination of a four year campaign by the League for the Institution for Divorce; example of women active in the protest movements and the Italian feminist movement; Christian Democrats fail to have the law repealed