Cooperativa italiana
The Cooperativa italiana is a restaurant that had international appeal as a meeting place for emigrants in Zurich . With the rise of fascism in Italy , it became an outpost of the socialist and labor movement and a center of anti-fascist resistance .
founding
In 1905, Italian Social Democrats founded the “Società Cooperativa Italiana” as a socialist interest group and as a cooperative kitchen. It was a cooperative that ran a restaurant and rented rooms for various purposes; this included a meeting room and a library. According to the statutes, the cooperative was part of the Partito Socialista Italiano .
Political activities
For years, the headquarters of the “Cooperativa italiana” was the headquarters of the socialist newspaper “L'Avvenire dei Lavoratori”. One of her collaborators was the writer Ignazio Silone , who had emigrated to Zurich . Lessons were also given here for children who attended the «Free Italian School».
The writer Franca Magnani , who went to school at the Free Italian School, writes: «The Copè was the center of anti-fascist emigration in Zurich and the place from which the two most important aid organizations of the Italian left emerged worked, the ‹Fondo Matteotti›, an aid organization named after the murdered socialist, and the ‹ International Red Aid ›. The 'Copè' was also the point of contact for anyone who needed a warm meal, was looking for a place to stay for the night where they did not have to show any ID or wanted to be taken somewhere. "
The restaurant
The Cooperativo , as the locality was abbreviated (also Copè, Copi, Coopi), developed into an internationally important meeting point. Here dined, politicized and debated: Mussolini - a socialist in his early days -, Lenin , Filipo Turati , Angelica Balabanoff , Giacomo Matteotti . When fascism ruled Italy, the Cooperativa was "a kind of center of anti-fascism".
The restaurant was initially run by Enrico Dezza, and then again from 1935 to 1952 together with Erminia Cella. "The soul of the company was Erminia Cella," writes Franca Magnani, calling her "a champion of the women's movement , without I ever hearing a word from her that explicitly referred to it." A square on Langstrasse “Piazza Cella” was named after the Cella family in 2009 , which was intended to honor Italian immigration in Zurich- Aussersihl as a whole.
post war period
After the World War, the restaurant remained a meeting place for the Italian labor movement, but increasingly also for the Swiss trade union and social democratic movement. Later, the activists of the 1968 movement met at Werdplatz in the assembly room above the restaurant for meetings and events. In 1970 the management of the cooperative was transferred to the Swiss construction and wood union (GBH).
The Cooperativo was located in Aussersihl : until 1912 on Zwinglistrasse, from 1912 to 1970 on Militärstrasse, from 1970 to 2007 on Werdplatz, and since 2010 on Sankt Jakobsstrasse.
Quote
"The Cooperativa [...] was a constant reference point for the exiles during the 20 years of exile."
literature
- Franca Magnani: an Italian family. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 1990, ISBN 3-462-03045-0 .
- Michele Morach, Pietro Bianchi: Bricklayer and organized. An Italian emigrant talks about his life. Limmat Verlag, Zurich 1979, ISBN 385791016X .
- Elisa Signori, Marina Tesoro: Il Verde e il Rosso - Fernando Schiavetti e gli antifascisti nell'esilio fra repubblicanesimo e socialismo. Le Monnier, Firenze 1987, ISBN 8800855342 .
Web links
- COOPI is 100 years young - history and bibliography on the restaurant website
- Entry of “Società Cooperativa Italiana Zurigo” in the commercial register of the Canton of Zurich