1956 in Italy

← 1955 1954 1953 1956 in Italy → 1957 1958 1959
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	History of Italy Timeline of Italian history List of years in Italy

Events from the year 1956 in Italy

Incumbents

President - Giovanni Gronchi

Prime minister - Antonio Segni

Events

• January 25 - February 5: in Cortina d’Ampezzo, 1956 winter Olympics. For the first time, Italy hosts the Olympic Games.
• February: an extraordinary wave of cold and snow, the second for intensity in the Twentieth century, strikes the whole Italy.
• February 2: in Partinico the activist Danilo Dolci and 19 laborers are arrested for a “reverse strike” (they cleared an uncultivated land in protest). In the year, there are in Southern Italy several clashes between laborers and police, with 4 dead.
• February  16: Minister of budget Ezio Vanoni dies for an hearth attack, during a debate in the Italian Senate about the economic situation.
• February 26-March 14: Giovanni Gronchi is the first Italian head of state to visit USA and Canada.
• April 21: first issue of the tabloid Il giorno, directed by Gaetano Baldacci. The new daily newspaper, politically of center-left, is covertly financed by ENI.
• April 22: the PCI deputy Francesco Moranino, escaped in Prague, is sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for crimes committed during the Resistance; he’s the first MP condemned by a tribunal in the history of Italian Republic.
• April 23: first session and first sentence of the Constitutional Court, presided by Enrico De Nicola; it abrogates an illiberal article of the Penal code.
• May 27; local elections
• June 13: in an interview to Nuovi Argomenti, Palmiro Togliatti comments the publication of Khruschev’s secret speech; the PCI secretary criticize the cult of personality but expresses several doubts about the de-Stalinization politicy.
• August 25: in Pralognan-la-Vanoise, Pietro Nenni and Giuseppe Saragat meets together; the two Socialist leaders discuss about a rapprochement and eventual reunification of PSI and PSDI.
• October 25: the Hungarian revolution divides the Italian left. The Communist party approves the Russian intervention, that is instead condemned by CGIl, included the communist secretary Giuseppe Di Vittorio (October 27) and by the Socialist Party (November 1)
• October 29: a manifest signed by 101 Communist intellectuals expresses strong dissent by the PCi position about the Hungarian revolution.
• November 24-27: in Milan, at the fifth MSI congess, the radical current Ordine Nuovo, headed by Pino Rauti, leaves the party.
• November 26: a secret agreement between CIA and Italian secret services creates the stay-behind organization Gladio.

Catastrophes

• July 26: SS Andrea Doria’s sinking; 55 dead.
• August 8: Marcinelle mining disaster: 237 dead (139 Italians)
• December 22: Monte Giner air crash: 21 dead

Crime news

• October 10: In Terrazzano two lunatics, the brothers Santato, take hostage for a day, in a primary school, 97 children and three schoolmistresses; the children are saved by the sacrifice of a volunteer, the worker Sante Zennaro, killed by the police’s friendly fire.

Economy

The Vanoni plan for the development of Italian economy, Keynesian in nature, is abandoned after the death of his promoter. Yet, the Prime minister Antonio Segni and the DC secretary Amintore Fanfani support a policy of public intervention, breaking with the liberalism of the former cabinets.

• February 28: the three employers’ organization, Confindustria, Confcommercio and Confagricoltura constitute a coordination committee, Confintesa.

• December 22: the State Holding Ministry is instituted.

Literature

Essays

• Those cursed Tuscans  by Curzio Malaparte.  

• Il futuro ha un cuore antico by Carlo Levi (travel book in Russland)

• The miners of the Maremma  by Carlo Cassola and Luciano Bianciardi.

• Salt in the wound by Leonardo Sciascia

Fiction

• Luca's secret by Ignazio Silone

• A prospect of Ferrara by Giorgio Bassani.

• Italian folktales by Italo Calvino.

• La casa di via Valadier by Carlo Cassola.

• Farfalla di Dinard, short stories by Eugenio Montale

Poetry

• The storm and other things by Eugenio Montale

• Fuochi fatui by Camillo Sbarbaro,

• Versi e poesie by Giacomo Noventa.

• Una strana gioia di viviere by Sandro Penna.

• The false and true green by Salvatore Quasimodo.

Literary awards

• Strega Prize: A prospect of Ferrara (Giorgio Bassani)
• Viareggio Prize: Le parole sono pietre by Calo Levi and La sparviera by Gianna Manzini.
• Bagutta Prize:Rosso sul lago by Giuseppe Lanza.

Music

• Dialogues by Gian Francesco Malipiero
• Il canto sospeso by Luigi Nono.

Pop music

The year sees the success of the Neapolitan songs by Aurelio Fierro (Guaglione), Renato Carosone (Tu vuo fa’ l’americano) and Domenico Modugno (Io, mammeta e tu) dealing with the topics of love and youth without sentimentality but with lively music and ironic lyrics.

• Sanremo music festival: Franca Raimondi with Aprite le finestre

Science

Oreste Piccioni proves the existence of antineutron.

Sport

Italian championships

• Serie A: Fiorentina ; Gino Pivatelli, Bologna, is top scorer with 29 goals

Italian victories

• UCI track cycling world championship: Antonio Maspes (sprint) and Guido Messina (Individual pursuit).

Gold medals

At the 1956 Winter Olympics, Italy gets 1 gold and 2 silver medals (all male).

• Bobsleigh: Lamberto Dalla Costa and Giacomo Conti.(two men)

At the 1956 Summer Olympics, Italy gets 8 gold, 8 silver and 9 bronze medals (all male).

• Cycling; Leandro Faggin (1000m time trial); ;4000m team pursuit; Ercole Baldini (Road race)
• Fencing: Carlo Pavesi (Epée individual); Foil and Epée teams.
• Rowing: cowed fours.
• Shooting: Galliano Rossini (Trap shooting)

Deaths

• February 16: Ezio Vanoni (52), economist and politician
• June 11: Corrado Alvaro (61), writer
• September 26: Pietro Calamandrei (67), jwriter, urist and politician.
• November 1: Pietro Badoglio (85), general and Prime Minister.