Clashes from Rovereta

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The clashes of Rovereta (in Italian: Fatti di Rovereta ) represent a controversial event in San Marinese history that took place in 1957.

The political background

After the dismissal of the national unity party as a result of the end of fascism , a left-wing coalition of the Communist Party of San Marinos (PCS) and the Socialist Party of San Marinos (PSS) ruled the republic after the elections of March 11, 1945 , their office in the elections in 1955 was confirmed. In these elections, the PCS and PSS jointly won 35 out of a total of 60 seats in the Grand and General Council (Consiglio Grande e Generale) and formed the government.

This government established closer diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union . Against the backdrop of the Cold War , the Italian government at the time could not tolerate the incumbent communist government in the small republic. Therefore, part of the San Marines considered the exit of the communist PCS from the government to be indispensable in order not to strain relations with Italy and to receive financial support from Italy and the United States .

The developments from summer to autumn 1957

The Sammarinese council was founded in mid-April 1957 in the crisis than five socialist dissidents a new party, the Partito Socialista Indipendente Sammarinese , resulting in the "democratic coalition" with the Sammarinese Christian Democratic Party and the Partito Socialista Democratico Sammarinese allied . The government coalition with 30 seats now faced an equally strong opposition. As a result, the two Capitani Reggenti , Giordano Giacobini and Primo Marani , refused to convene the council all summer . The reign of the Capitani was limited to September 30th according to the Statuti (the San Marinese constitution); beforehand the council had to choose their successor. The election was fixed by the Capitani on September 19th in the afternoon; for this the council had to be convened.

On September 18, Attilio Giannini , who was elected to the list of the PCS as a non-party member in 1955, left the previous communist-socialist government coalition and helped the previous opposition parties to a majority, consisting of 23 members of the Partito Democratico Cristiano Sammarinese , 5 of the Partito Socialista Indipendente Sammarinese , 2 of the Partito Socialista Democratico Sammarinese and the independent MP Giannini himself.

At PCS and PSS it was common practice to demand undated resignation declarations from their associated council members after their election in order to be able to remove them from office in the event of violations of party discipline. Although six members had since left PCS and PSS, the parties still had their blank letters of resignation. As of September 19, the PCS and PSS submitted all 35 resignations, including those of their breakaway members. This fell below the minimum number of votes of the council.

The Capitani Reggenti dissolved the council and set new elections for November 3rd. Since the council had not elected any new Capitani, the legal status of the previous Capitani beyond their term of office was unclear from October 1st. This meant a constitutional crisis . The Capitani Reggenti commissioned the Gendarmeria (the police unit of San Marino) to cordon off the Palazzo Pubblico (the seat of government) in San Marino . The previous opposition parties protested, and the members of the PSIS demanded that the resignations handed over on their behalf be considered invalid.

The 31 MPs of the new majority of the council gathered in front of the capital's cathedral and made claims to the government after establishing a new government committee led by Federico Bigi , Alvaro Casali , Pietro Giancecchi and Zaccaria Giovanni Savoretti . In her opinion, the failed election of the new Reggenti was a coup. However, they did not form a new government, nor did they appoint new leaders.

There was no unrest as a result of these events, but the climate of tension persisted. In the days that followed, all political parties sought support and contacts from Italian politicians.

The Rovereta Riots

On the evening of September 30th, the members of the new self-proclaimed majority occupied Rovereta , an industrial area of ​​the Serravalle municipality in a San-Marinese headland enclosed by Italian territory. At midnight on October 1st, when the governing Capitani Reggenti expired, the members of the government committee proclaimed a provisional government. Shortly afterwards, Italian carabinieri , some with tanks, besieged all three sides of the area bordering Italy. The Italian government immediately recognized the Provisional Government as legitimate.

After the formation of the provisional government, the government in San Marino convened a voluntary militia unit ( Corpo di Milizia Volontaria ), because a military invasion of the provisional government towards the capital with the help of Italian soldiers could not be ruled out.

In this increasingly tense state, increased by the importation of many weapons from Italy and the failure of attempts to negotiate, the head of the gendarmeria (the San Marinese police unit) Ettore Sozzi showed himself to be able to maintain public order.

On October 8th and 9th, the provisional government gave the same Soczi the authority to maintain public security and to set up a new gendarmeria unit in the capital.

On October 11, the Reggenti put an end to the crisis, recognized the Provisional Government and disbanded the voluntary militia unit. On October 14, the Provisional Government left its headquarters in Rovereta and climbed the Titano to take office in the government palace.

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