Valentino Parlato , journalist, politician and historical director of the newspaper il Manifesto, died today at the age of 86 . He was born in 1931 in Tripoli.
Expelled from Libya for his Communist militancy, he moved to Rome where he worked for L’Unita, climbing the hierarchy of the PCI, until he became a member of the Central Committee. In 1969 he was expelled from the Communist Party and was one of the founders of the manifesto of which he was, on several occasions, director. He edited, among others, the edition of works by Adam Smith , Lenin , Antonio Gramsci and Gaddafi .
FAREWELL TO VALENTINO SPOKEN IN 19 ARCHIVE PHOTOS
Here is the biography of him edited by Giorgio Dell’Arti :
Sicilian family, from Favara, in the Agrigento area. The father of the tax officer was sent to Libya to take into account. A member of the Libyan Communist Party, in 1951 he was expelled from the British Protectorate: “I was a law student: if I had escaped this first wave I would have become a lawyer from Tripoli and when Gaddafi would have kicked me out, in 1979, along with all the others, I would be found in Italy, at almost fifty, without art part of it. I would have ended up working as a lawyer for an insurance company in Agrigento, Catania. A nightmare. I really got away with it “.
GOODBYE TO VALENTINO SPOKEN IN 19 ARCHIVE PHOTOS
University in Rome since 1951, he met Luciana Castellina andhe enrolled in the Communist Party: «He begins his rigorous career as a“ poor official ”in the richest Communist apparatus in the West. He does it by following Giorgio Amendola ‘s best right : and “a leftist amendment” who has moved to Realpolitik. In the elections of 1953 he agrees to work for the federation of Agrigento. Then, when they offer him to remain as an official and in perspective as a future candidate for Parliament, he hesitates: and his girlfriend of the moment, Clara Valenziano , who will be his wife and with whom he will have two children, Enrico and Matteo , to clear his mind. If you stay here I’ll give you up, he basically tells him. Women, Valentino soon learns that it is better to listen to them: Luciana, Clara, then it’s up to Delfina Bonada, Italian born in Switzerland who will be his second wife and mother of Valentina. So he goes back to Rome. You find work at Unita as a correspondent for the province “( Lanfranco Pace ).
FAREWELL TO VALENTINO PARLATO IN 19 ARCHIVE PHOTOS
Brought by Pajetta to Rinascita as an economic editor, in 1969 he was expelled from the PCI with the other founders of the Manifesto: from this moment his biography coincides with that of the newspaper. He participated in the creation of the first issue (23 June 1969, Dedalo editions, 75,000 copies in circulation) with Luigi Pintor , Aldo Natoli , Luciana Castellina and Ninetta Zandegiacomi . The directors were Lucio Magri and Rossana Rossanda. On April 28, 1971, the Manifesto became a newspaper, Parlato was its director many times: from September 19, 1975 to November 30, 1985 (in two periods his direction was joined by other directors, according to a concept of “shared direction” typical of the Manifesto: from February 18 to July 3, 1976 with Pintor , Ferraris , Vittorio Foa , Castellina and Rossanda; on July 3, only the last two remained close to him, but only until March 1, 1978), from January 1, 1988 to July 30, 1990, from 1 October 1995 to 30 March 1998.
GOODBYE TO VALENTINO SPOKEN IN 19 ARCHIVE PHOTOS
An original man with a notable sense of humor, over the years he has argued, among other things, that left-wing leaders cannot have the maid at home, that wiretaps are fine and should not be limited, he supported the Dini government and also the first Prodi government , but not the D’Alema government , congratulated the Agnellis when they entrusted Fiat to Romiti , admitted that the Manifesto accepted 60 million from Craxi ‘s PSI (“a loan, we have repaid everything” ), unconditionally approved that Armanihad chosen his newspaper to campaign for, judging its audience “very suitable”, had a close correspondence with Enrico Cuccia(without someone like him, “who acted as a father and tutor to the system, we find ourselves with this capitalism and its vile tendencies, making money for its own sake”), was ultimately overwhelmed by an avalanche of letters of protest after arguing that it was a mistake to boycott the Turin Book Fair with Israel as the guest of honor. Above all, he faced, with great practical spirit, the continuous financial crises of the newspaper, which on average every two years must ask its readers or supporters or sympathizers for the charity of a few billion lire or a few million euros to move forward (despite the fact that at the Manifesto everyone without distinction should get the same salary: 1,200 euros plus seniority).
FAREWELL TO VALENTINO SPOKEN IN 19 ARCHIVE PHOTOS
In December 2007 the move from the historic headquarters in via Tomacelli: «It had to happen sooner or later. I’ll take my old typewriter … “(an Olivetti 98). Now the headquarters are in via Bargoni 6, Porta Portese area. They went there with «a Mulas and a Vespignani, framed, an old poster with Valpreda and many memories. The bomb of Insabato, the kidnapping of Giuliana Sgrena , the visits of Jane Fonda and Ciriaco De Mita , of Alessandro Panagulis and Yves Montand . Fidel Castro instead gave up in 96 and apologized with a barrel of rum. “Excellent,” they commented on the third floor. And the liqueur still preferred by Parlato »( Paolo Brogi).
GOODBYE TO VALENTINO SPOKEN IN 19 ARCHIVE PHOTOS
In 2012 and the last of the founders to abandon the historic newspaper: «Il Manifesto is a decayed newspaper, has lost its appearance. It had to remain a party newspaper and instead that role dissolved. It is a newspaper like any other, which is also experiencing economic difficulties. Generic and poor. And there was no strong debate to renew it “(to Alessandra Longo ).
FAREWELL TO VALENTINO SPOKEN IN 19 ARCHIVE PHOTOS
After Ingrao and Rossanda he too told about himself, not in a book but in a 52-minute documentary, Life and adventures of Signor di Bric in Brac, written and directed by his son Matteo together to Marina Catucci and Roberto Salinas. To the Manifesto he dedicated If thirty-five years seem a few to you (Rizzoli 2006), and The non-Russian revolution. Forty years of poster history (Manni).
GOODBYE TO VALENTINO SPOKEN IN 19 ARCHIVE PHOTOS Heavy
smoker, in November 2007 I still declare 70 cigarettes a day. I judge the limitations imposed by Sirchia as an attack on freedom (“I do not rule out that, after cigarettes, everything else will be banned”).
He doesn’t have a cell phone.
