Pannella returns to Piazza Navona

At last, the plaque honouring Marco Pannella has found a home. From today, the Radical Party leader will be commemorated in Piazza Navona, on the corner of Palazzo Braschi – a place that witnessed many of Pannella’s battles, more or less impromptu rallies and Radical Party celebrations, such as the spontaneous one following the referendum on divorce. The Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, described this initiative as “a fitting tribute to a great figure who breathed life into Italian democracy” and who “made a decisive contribution to the advancement of civil rights, human rights and the defence of the rule of law”. The ceremony was attended by the Councillor for Culture, Massimiliano Smeriglio; the former Mayor of Rome and former Radical Party secretary, Francesco Rutelli; and the deputy secretary of the Luca Coscioni Association and Pannella’s long-time partner, Mirella Parachini.

The unveiling of the plaque in honour of Pannella was a turbulent affair. Not only because of the internal debate amongst the Radicals, who were divided between those who insisted on Piazza Navona and those, such as the secretary Maurizio Turco, who would have preferred it to be placed in Via di Torre Argentina outside the party’s historic headquarters. But also because the residents of another block of flats identified in the Roman square refused to allow the Radical leader to be commemorated on the walls of their building. For Rome’s Councillor for Culture, Massimiliano Smeriglio, it was “a necessary step, by no means straightforward, as we also tried to find other solutions. This constant clash with apartment blocks that won’t make space is not a good sign. It had already happened with Pasolini and with Matteotti. Fortunately,” he explained, “we then worked on Palazzo Braschi, which is owned by the city council, involving the Superintendency, and we are delighted that everything has turned out for the best in this iconic venue of Radical struggles.”