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I live and continue to live unforgettable days. From newspapers it is impossible to get the right impression of what is happening in Italy. We were walking on an erupting volcano, when, without anyone anticipating it, especially the fascists, ever sure of their infinite power, the volcano suddenly erupted, unleasing an immense river of ardent lava, sweeping away everything and everyone fascist. Events were developing with unheard of lightning speed. From day to day, from hour to hour, the situation was shifting. The regime was attacked from all sides. Fascism was becoming isolated in the country. This became evident in its leaders’ panic and its followers’ retreat… Our movement has made a great leap forward: the newspaper’s circulation has trebled, in many centers our comrades have placed themselves at the head of the masses, and have tried to disarm the fascists. Our demands are welcomed with enthusiasm and repeated in the motions voted in the factories. In these days, I believe our party has become a real mass party.
Antonio Gramsci, 22 June 1924, in a letter to his wife, Julia Schucht. This is twelve days after Giacomo Matteoti, secretary of the Unified Socialist Party, was murdered by Mussolini’s men - a move that sparked a political crisis in Italy against the rising fascist powers. Gramsci was head of the Communist Party of Italy by this time.