In Italy, the phrase Years of Lead refers to a period of political violence and social upheaval that lasted from the late 1960s until the late 1980s, marked by a wave of both far-left and far-right incidents of political terrorism and violent clashes.
Aftermath of the bombing at the Bologna railway station in August 1980 which killed 85 people, the deadliest event during the Years of Lead, carried out by the neo-fascist terrorist group known as the Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari
A passage of the funerals of the victims of the Piazza Fontana bombing. The funeral march goes through Milan Cathedral Square. Milan, 12 December 1969
Renato Curcio in 2008
Junio Valerio Borghese
Political violence is violence which is perpetrated in order to achieve political goals. It can include violence which is used by a state against other states (war), violence which is used by a state against civilians and non-state actors, and violence which is used by violent non-state actors against states and civilians. It can also describe politically motivated violence which is used by violent non-state actors against a state or it can describe violence which is used against other non-state actors and/or civilians. Non-action on the part of a government can also be characterized as a form of political violence, such as refusing to alleviate famine or otherwise denying resources to politically identifiable groups within their territory.
Photographs of victims of the Dirty War under the military dictatorship of Argentina (1976–1983), part of the U.S.-backed Operation Condor in Latin America.
