’The Long ’68’. Italy’s View of the Protest Movement of 40 Years ago

In Italy, different people remember the movement of ’68 differently. While some call it a ’myth’ or ’a kind of holy relic’, others see it as the ’sessantotto lungo’, the ’long ’68’. And although the ’68ers figure everywhere in the lives of the Italians there has as yet been no controversial debate among the country’s historians. It is a well-known fact that Prime Minister Berlusconi is in the habit of reviling the ’68ers, but his attitude jars against the mildness with which Italy’s right-wing camp now views the movement of 40 years ago. Although the phenomenon has not been thoroughly analysed as yet, there is a wealth of literature on the subject which this article attempts to introduce. A presentation of established approaches is followed by chapters describing the specifically Italian background of 1968, the question of its legacy, and selected research results.