The Last Emperor

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the death of Enrico Berlinguer, General Secretary of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) from 1972 to 1984, a man who took over the TIME cover without the help of anyone, and, in fact, the leader of the largest communist party in Western Europe — just keep in mind he always earned his votes in free elections. With respect to his political heirs, he was a giant. Among his countless merits, in 1976, in a historic speech before 5,000 Communist delegates at the 25th CPSU Congress in Moscow, Berlinguer passionately vindicated the autonomy and dignity of the Italian Communist Party as a “pluralistic” outpost towards Eurocommunism, an alternative model of socialism distinct from both the Soviet Bloc and the capitalism practiced by Western countries. In the early ’80s, the Italian Communist Party’s split with the Soviet Communist Party became definitive and irrevocable. Over a million people — including world’s conductors such as the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev and the third Premier of the People’s Republic of China 赵紫阳 (Zhào Zǐyáng) — attended Berlinguer’s funeral in Rome on June 13, 1984 making it one of the biggest funerals in Italy’s history.

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Thirty-four years ago tomorrow Enrico Berlinguer, the Last Emperor of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), died. The General Secretary of the biggest communist party in Western Europe – don’t forget he always earned his votes in free and fair elections – distinguished himself for his irreducible ethics as a leader who preferred not to win power for painting his ideal of Eurocommunism, firmly opposing to Soviet repression in Eastern Europe and inspiring from behind the only valuable democratic changes ever happened in Italy. In 1976, before 5,000 Communist delegates at the 25th CPSU Congress in Moscow, in a passionate speech Berlinguer vindicated the right of the Italian Communist Party to be a part of a “pluralistic system”, even arriving to declare – in an interview to Il Corriere della Sera – that he felt “safer under NATO’s umbrella”. He died six days before Italy’s elections for the European Parliament when, for the first time in Italian history, the PCI won the most votes nationwide. More than a million people attended Enrico Berlinguer’s funeral in Rome on June 13, 1984, making it one of the biggest funerals in Italy’s history.

Actor, director, and Academy Award winner Roberto Benigni pulling Enrico Berlinguer up into his arms in Rome, June 16, 1983. Photo: Attilio Cristini.

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

General Secretary of the Italian Communist Party Enrico Berlinguer’s last speech four days before his death. More than a million people attended his funeral in Rome on June 13, 1984, making it one of the biggest funerals in Italy’s history.