Montanelli, Indro

(1909–2001)

   Perhaps the most famous Italian journalist of the 20th century, Indro Montanelli fought a long intellectual battle against Italian communism but in the mid-1990s became one of the sternest critics of the right-wing politicians who had emerged in Italy since the collapse of the Democrazia Cristiana/ Christian Democracy Party (DC) in 1992–1993.

   Born near Florence, Montanelli, who was an ardent Fascist in his youth, made his name as a war correspondent for the Corriere della sera in Finland during the winter of 1939–1940. For most of the immediate postwar years Montanelli was the chief columnist for the Corriere, but, in 1974, dismayed by the paper’s increasing willingness to compromise with the Partito Comunista Italiano/Italian Communist Party (PCI), he left the Milanese daily to found a new newspaper, Il Giornale nuovo, which he edited until January 1994. At Il Giornale, Montanelli was vehemently critical of both the PCI and the DC, whose corruption and political malpractice he denounced in brilliant, incisive prose. He nevertheless continued to urge his readers to “hold their noses” and vote for the DC so long as there was any risk of the PCI’s taking power. Montanelli’s defense of the DC made him unpopular with the radical left in the turbulent 1970s; in June 1977, he was shot in the legs by zealots of the Brigate Rosse/Red Brigades (BR).

   Montanelli’s career as editor of Il Giornale was brought to an end by his refusal to condone and support the political career of Silvio Berlusconi, the paper’s owner. Berlusconi brusquely sacked Montanelli, and the veteran journalist was forced to start a new broadsheet, La Voce, which soon failed. Montanelli continued to play an active role in Italian public life and to publish regular articles on the political scene until his death in July 2001. In addition to his journalism, he was the author of numerous works of popular history including a multivolume best-selling history of Italy, as well as several plays and stories.

   See also Press.