The years following 1968''s wave of protests are characterised in Italy by the radicalization of far left groups and their growing use of violence as a resource in the political struggle. Today, the so-called “years of lead” are still a burning issue: the continuing resurgence of sharp debates and controversies about this period reveals the co-existence of multiple interpretations and fragmented memories. If the official memory, celebrated through commemorations, plaques and discourses, highlights the victory of the Italian democracy on “terrorism” and reaffirms the State order, the persistence of alternative contentious versions of the past is also visible. The paper will examine how different events (judicial cases, conferences, films...) become occasions to arise controversies about the past in a struggle to affirm its “righteous” interpretation. Over the past 10-15 years debates have been largely dominated by the “victims of terrorism” (both far left victims and far right ones, organised into associations). A new speech about “memory as a moral duty” appears while the collective memory of communism and revolution is marginalised, criminalised and morally condemned. This phenomenon can be explained by several concomitant dynamics: a process of judicialization of the past; the decline of the Marxist reference; the rise of victims'' voice at the international level; progressive legitimization in Italy of far right groups and speech. The interdisciplinary approach of the research combines a rich theoretical frame with qualitative analysis and fieldwork: sociological literature on social movements, different studies on memory, specific researches on Italy are articulated to empirical materials gathered (general press, interviews; archives).
