The mystique of the hardliners, the Ranucci case and the cult of the untouchables. A glossary

The famous rally of a thousand people against ‘state censorship’ was held in the name of the Constitution on the second Friday of October 2026 at the Teatro Italia in Rome – a monumental building of Fascist architecture – ‘against Fascism, neo-Fascism and post-Fascism’; but also, as Luigi de Magistris proclaimed from the stage, “against liberalism, turbo-capitalism and the powers that be”. There were a thousand of them, as the event’s organiser, Sigfrido Ranucci, and the fact that the former headquarters of the Dopolavoro Ferroviario claimed a total capacity of eight hundred seats is one of those pedantic details over which historians love to squabble as a professional habit (from the outset, the most meticulous observers speculated that two hundred spectators had been left standing). In truth, what matters most is the substance of this valuable document, thanks to which it is possible to reconstruct, in a concise yet faithful manner, the essential glossary as well as certain customs prevalent amongst the hardline moralists of the time.

The civic fervour expressed on that occasion – not without the mystical undertones typical of para-religious cults – and the invocation of an unusual commitment to due process, brandished for the occasion in the face of the Byzantine obscurity of feared conspiracies, paint a clear picture of figures who were visibly aware of the role to which the country’s destiny had called them: the formation of a rock-solid circle, illuminated by the spotlight, at the forefront of the struggle against evil. “Anyone who isn’t in,” they kept repeating to themselves, “is against us.”

What follows is an impromptu dictionary as it might have been compiled by a reporter who had the good fortune to witness the tumultuous weeks of the Ranucci affair, the television presenter who had become a symbol of the finest values, awarded numerous honorary citizenships, yet forced, against his will, to appear on stages across the Peninsula under heightened security following the attack against him orchestrated by a friend (an absurd or bizarre circumstance unless one takes care to contextualise it within the era in which it occurred).

Appeal: a timeless and versatile classic, like Ranucci’s white shirt. It goes with everything and is suitable for everyday wear. Its more ambitious Sunday version is called a ‘manifesto’. An appeal (for peace, the environment, a truce, a protected species, Iranian women, and so on) is destined for the news pages; the manifesto, for the history books. Signing up costs nothing, yet the outcome is guaranteed. If you have an obscure surname but a lucky initial, you might end up above or below some famous regular contributor. Alert: this is another evergreen and can be triggered at any moment. It belongs to whoever issues it first: the ‘democratic’ one, despite being worn out through overuse, still works well – especially if there’s someone in government you don’t like.

Baluardo: a noun with somewhat sombre connotations, as it is generally used when a bookshop, a radio station or a TV programme is at risk of closure. Baluardo relies entirely on the genitive case: of independence, of freedom, of democracy. A ‘baluardo’ can only die, because one never hears of its birth being announced. Bisignani: point the finger at him if you don’t know who else to point it at. Bistrò or Bisteccheria: respond to those who take offence at the shady dinners at the Cefalù Bistrò by asking, ‘Well then, what about the Bisteccheria?’ or vice versa, depending on one’s political leanings. Bomb: in a country that has seen so many, with such devastating effects, the strangest and most harmless one – and some even call it ‘romantic’ – has also become the most hotly debated.

Chat: It is essential to respond to anyone raising suspicions about the relationship between Ranucci and Lavitola with: "So what about Delmastro?" (or vice versa). Conditional: a verb form in the Italian language that can be used to cobble together television investigations, instil suspicion whilst sidestepping legal action, and smear others with reduced risk; in common parlance, conjecture, when rendered in the indicative mood, will be taken as certainty. Any corrections will come after the horse has bolted. Media campaign: always described as ‘massive’, it follows Verdon’s principle that it can be as heavy as a boulder or as light as a feather, depending on whether one is waging it or enduring it. Those who habitually stir it up call it ‘strepitus’ when they themselves become its target.

‘Disgraziato’: an adjective which, these days, precedes ‘country’ in place of the ‘Bel’ with which Abbot Antonio Stoppani titled a famous book that inspired a cheese. ‘This wretched country’ is synonymous with Italy (most recently, as stated by prosecutor Nino Di Matteo in his speech endorsing Ranucci, delivered at that Teatro – ça va sans dire – Italia). Red herrings: for every lead, many are reported. Palermo is the undisputed capital of this speciality. There is the simple red herring, the misdirected red herring, and the misdirected one that misdirects.

The elite: there is obviously more than one, and they are always in power (political, international, Masonic, Mafia-related, astral). The intellectual elite is on the wane, whilst the occult elite is on the rise – though not too much, because Palantir immediately gives itself away by asking for a health card from anyone buying a car. Especially if it’s Sigfrido.

Thread: it is usually red – or rather, ‘rouge’ when it is a ‘fil’. It serves to connect the dots but often gets tangled up in a ‘gliommero’ reminiscent of Gadda. For some, it turns black if they link it to the Mafia massacres between ’92 and ’93: ‘How much material I would have if it weren’t for the facts!’, lamented Karl Kraus. Source: as in fairy tales, it harbours a mystery. A coffee or a fleeting selfie with a shady-looking face can make you an accomplice or, at the very least, a bit of a loose cannon; yet there are those who can hang around a source and do them favours because, in certain cases, ‘honni soit qui mal y pense’.

Justice: anyone who aspires to reform it is surely harbouring some sinister motive. It is fairer when it does not concern us. It can sometimes lead to a conviction on the basis of ‘certain probability’, which – as Giuseppe Pontiggia noted – ‘does not exist in Italian. But in Italy it does’.” Gabanelli, a former candidate for the Quirinale, is still prominently featured alongside Ranucci’s name at the entrance to a room on Report, much like the blue plaques installed on buildings in the United Kingdom to commemorate the historical figures who once lived there.

Harry Potter: the inspiration behind Ranucci’s children’s book "Navigare senza paura". The epigraph features a quote from the wizard Albus Dumbledore: “We must call things by their proper names; fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself.” But for Lavitola, a friend, an exception is made.

Artificial intelligence: another risk has been added to those recently highlighted by Silicon Valley gurus. One that might give a diametrically opposed answer depending on whether Formigli or Ranucci asks the question. This leaves readers with lingering doubt, and many may cling to their preconceived certainties: that ‘anyone who thinks differently from us’ is a fool (Flaubert). The episode also suggests that Pontiggia was still right about Gli Intoccabili: ‘Men of integrity shatter into a thousand pieces the moment they are struck in the right spot’.

Karoline: an enigmatic and tragic figure in a love story put down on paper by Sigfrido in his autobiographical book. A (seemingly) fictional character through whom the author deliberately presented a very poor image of himself, probably in an attempt at humility.

Lynching: an archaic synonym for the ‘character assassination’ lamented by Ranucci, because, as the Poet attests, ‘those who have not experienced it cannot understand it’. Often, in Report, character assassination was accompanied by a malicious remark by Karl Kraus (him again): ‘The distortion of reality in reportage is the truthful reportage on reality’. Or, to quote Ennio Flaiano, “reality is whatever we manage to pass off as such”. Thus, in his impassioned plea on Ranucci’s behalf, lawyer Fabio Repici described him as the victim of a campaign of “Nazi-like ferocity” orchestrated by “neo-fascists who have crawled out of the sewers”. Formigli, Santoro and Saviano have played right into Goebbels’ hands.

Monologue: according to the Treccani dictionary, ‘a dramatic scene in which an actor speaks and performs alone’. It used to bring to mind Hamlet; now it makes us think of Marco Travaglio. Smear campaign: only when it’s directed against us.

News item: if it says ‘we are verifying this’, that should be a sign that it is not (yet) true.

Occupation: of roles, positions or public spaces. For it to be denounced, it must be carried out by an opposing faction; otherwise, we do not notice it. It is generally carried out ‘by force’ and always jeopardises a public good, a common right or a virtuous principle.

Presidio: it resembles ‘Baluardo’, but rather than signifying an end, it heralds staunch resistance against a Plan, a Pact or against Powers that are more or less identified (describe them as ‘strong’ if it has not been decided with certainty who we are up against, so as to leave the allusion open). The Presidio may take on human form, in which case it will be imbued with a heroic aura.

The people: otherwise known as ‘my people’ (quoting Sigfrido) or ‘the sound part’. They rally round the hero. Preferably at the theatre, having first purchased a ticket. At that moment, the people become the audience and their embrace is ‘warm’. During the summer season, borrow the vocabulary of estate agents, whereby the audience is elevated – or reduced – to a ‘splendid backdrop’.

Lawsuits: a thriving new source of income for law firms specialising in tracking down insults posted online by bored housewives and incontinent pensioners directed at a star or semi-star of the media scene. A financial settlement is offered to avoid a trial, so that the offending party repents and suffers a salutary financial blow. Conversely, should the star or semi-star be the recipient of the legal proceedings, the lawsuit ceases to be ‘educational’ and becomes ‘reckless’: she cannot be insulted or defamed, but a politician can, and if she takes the matter to court, she must be mindful of press freedom.

Resilience: “Turning pain into resilience,” Ranucci vowed on social media to accompany the sombre farewell ceremony for his historic office at Report (the one with the blue plaque). And ‘A reporter’s chronicles of resilience’ is the subtitle of the theatre tour with which he has captivated audiences: a special fondness for a word that has made the leap from materials science into everyday language. Resilient to any attempt at suppression.

Back (straight): a (resilient) metaphor from the ‘orthopaedics of journalism’ used to gauge, depending on the angle of the spine, a colleague’s integrity and independence. The desired perpendicularity also applies to the cap: those who wear it, such as correspondent Paolo Mondani, should take care not to let it tilt at twenty-three. The backs of those who do not share our views are generally crooked (with all due respect to Antonio Gramsci and Giacomo Leopardi). Superman’s is perfectly straight. Taking a stand is a prerequisite, even if you are a singer or a violinist: Fruttero & Lucentini penned a memorable and highly topical column on the ‘committed in C major’ – that is, the altruists who dedicated at least one concert ‘to the victims of Beirut and to fundraising for the Palestinians’. Because ‘anyone who listens to Mozart without thinking about the situation in the Congo is a scoundrel’. Typically, those who take a stand are also signatories to petitions (see above) and, on Sundays, to demonstrations. A disastrous alternative would be Silence, which is generally oppressive, or unsettling, or worse still, suspicious.

Suspicion is widely regarded as the antechamber of truth. We ask Pontiggia’s pardon for troubling him once more, but it is his own fault for having written: ‘Ideological systems resemble paranoid systems. They start from a delusional idea and, around this, develop a network of rational ideas.’ Beyond, or in spite of, these stands the inexplicable realm of mysticism: a domain that belongs far more to the stigmatised than to us, such as the guru of Antimafia Duemila, Giorgio Bongiovanni, who speaks with Scarpinato and Jesus (without taking anything away, si parva licet, from Sigfrido).

Camera: an indispensable tool for an investigative journalist. Hidden is better than out in the open, but ideally you’d have both: one to film and the other to act as a distraction. It’s well known, however, that the bulk of the work will fall to the editors. For phone calls, on the other hand, it’s advisable to use Signal. You never know what might happen in life.

Unity: a buzzword generally invoked through an appeal (see the entry above). It is used all the more frequently the more utopian its achievement is feared to be.

Check: see the ‘News’ section.

Zero mafias, zero tolerance: excellent slogans for horizontal banners or declarations of intent. They become worrying, however, when the frequency with which they are used causes them to become part of rhetorical rhetoric.