Battle of Valle Giulia


The Battle of Valle Giulia is the conventional name for a clash between Italian militants and the Italian police in Valle Giulia, Rome, on 1 March 1968. It is still frequently remembered as one of the first violent clashes in Italy's student unrest during the protests of 1968 or "Sessantotto".

Overview

On Friday 1 March, about 4,000 people gathered in the Piazza di Spagna, who began marching through the Sapienza University of Rome campus; some had the intention of occupying the school. When they arrived, the students found themselves in front of an imposing cordon of police, and during the coping that followed, a small group of policemen broke away to deal with violence of an isolated student; the protesters responded with throwing stones and sharp objects. The leaders of the attacks against police were neo-fascist members of the National Vanguard Youth. Left-wing and Right-wing students occupied different buildings. In the brawl, 148 injuries were recorded to police, 478 injuries to students, 4 were detained, and 228 arrested. Eight police cars were destroyed, and five guns were stolen from officers.