“I felt instinctive to think of Lussu”. “I am struck by the concreteness of his legacy: great books, the contribution to the articles of the Constitution, only the most obvious examples. 'A year on the Altipiano' is the Italian book on the First World War, without the 'March on Rome and its surroundings' one cannot understand the crisis that led to fascism. He left his mark with his ideas: culture as a common good and politics as a service ”. Agostino Bistarelli, who taught Contemporary History at the La Sapienza University of Rome, research referent for the Central Council for Historical Studies, in which he coordinates the National Historical Bibliography, published "Emilio Lussu, the story of a life" published by “L'Asino d'Oro” (pag. 220, 18 euros) which will be presented next September 2nd in Cagliari.
“I instinctively thought of Lussu: I had met him in my research on reducism and exile. Describing his life is like constructing a biography of Italy, reflecting on the most important issues of our past, understanding the conditions of the present ". Bistarelli sums up the meaning of the human and intellectual experience of the political leader born in Armungia: “The heroic and everyday acts, his theoretical reflection and writing, life with Joyce are marked by a basic coherence that emerges immediately. An existence in which difficult moments are experienced as stimuli to leave again. He might seem like an adventure character, but he is very human. The political dimension is not abstract, it is very concrete: analyzing the things around us and trying to change them. It can be done". Very close to Carlo Rosselli, with whom he built the house of "Justice and Freedom", Emilio Lussu points the way to an "autonomist, federalist, libertarian socialism, very different from that of the early twentieth century which had proved ineffective against fascism ".
Life between fronts and borders
Agostino Bistarelli's book is a useful contribution. Lussu is a living creature. From Sardinia to international scenarios, without ever forgetting the roots. From the anti-fascist struggle, between fronts and borders to the contribution to create in Italy the foundations of a solid democracy and in the island a form of autonomy in line with collective aspirations. “I think the confinement has meant a lot to his path. The comparison with Carlo Rosselli and with the community of anti-fascists, of different generations and different social backgrounds, broadens the horizons of his thought. With the escape from Lipari, attempted several times and finally realized, it demonstrates that it is possible to act and hit hard on fascism. Then the meeting with Joyce, a magnificent partnership, sentimental, political, cultural ”.
The memory
Alessandro Galante Garrone, after the death of Lussu, wrote: “A man dies of which Italy today would desperately need. Agostino Bistarelli clarifies that his 'sense of responsibility, integrity and coherence of attitudes' remain. We must keep his memory alive: 'In the centenary of the March on Rome it would be irresponsible not to talk about it and not to see in the current crisis the emergence of profound elements of our history: the return of a personal vision of power, of transformism, of hypocrisy politics. There is no coherent plan for transformation. Quite the opposite of the values that Emilio Lussu embodied. As a minister he said he was ready to get on his horse to go to Via Nazionale to rob the Bank of Italy, if it could help, but that he would never sign a provision to favor his party '.