Historic Milan Counter-Cultural Squat Evicted
Milan: Police on Thursday executed an eviction order for the historic Leoncavallo counter-cultural, leftist, anticapitalist, and anarchist squat in Milan. The police enforced the eviction order, postponed several times, for the so-called ‘social centre’, one of many such squats in big Italian cities.
According to Ansa News Agency, Premier Giorgia Meloni stated that free zones cannot exist in a state ruled by law. “In a constitutional state, there cannot be free zones or areas removed from legality,” Meloni expressed on social media following the eviction. “Illegal occupations,” she added, “are a threat to security, to citizens, and to communities that respect the rules. The government will continue to ensure that the law is respected, always and everywhere: this is the essential condition for defending everyone’s rights.”
Deputy Prime Minister, Transport Minister, and right-wing League party leader Matteo Salvini, who has long campaigned against the squats, also hailed the move. “Finally, things have changed. The law is the same for everyone: get out!”, he said. Milan’s centre-left mayor, Giuseppe Sala, mentioned that the city council had not been informed of the eviction order and described Leoncavallo as “a historic and social value of our city”, implying that he would have opposed the order. He emphasized that the council should have been informed about “such a delicate operation”.
The Milan Court of Appeal had directed the Ministry of the Interior to pay three million euros to landlord Orologio for its failure to evict the center in recent years. Consequently, the interior ministry requested compensation from Marina Boer, the president of the Mamme del Leoncavallo association. “We will have 30 days to reach an agreement (on an appeal),” the Mamme del Leoncavallo commented. “It’s a tragedy.” Boer stated they would appeal to the city council, maintaining that “this is not the end”. She indicated that dialogue with the council was “still open” on finding an alternative space for the young activists.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi remarked that the eviction demonstrates the government’s zero tolerance on squatting. “The eviction of the Leoncavallo social center marks the end of a long season of illegality,” he said. “For thirty years, that building was occupied illegally. And insult was added to injury: the state was even forced to compensate for the damages caused by the occupation. Today, legality is finally being restored. The government has a clear line: zero tolerance for illegal occupations. Since the beginning of our mandate, nearly 4,000 properties have already been evicted. The eviction of the Leoncavallo is just another step in a consistent and determined strategy that we will continue to pursue.”
Premier Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party stated, “legality is returning thanks to the Meloni government” while the other government partner, the centre-right post Berlusconi Forza Italia (FI) party, remarked, “the eviction of the Leoncavallo is an important fact”. Meanwhile, the centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) commented, “when they’re in trouble, the bulldozers come back out,” referring to high-profile razing of Roma camps and other squats.
Leoncavallo’s artistic director during its heyday, Matteo ‘Flipper’ Marchetti, described the day as “a sad day for anti-system protest but also for culture”, listing a roster of big-name acts who had appeared on its stage. “Virtually everyone has played on the Leoncavallo stage over the years, from Subsonica and Afterhours-practically regulars, as well as Africa Unite and Modena City Ramblers-to bands like Public Enemy, who drew eight thousand people in 1999,” said Marchetti. “And then Carmen Consoli with the orchestra, Max Gazz©, rappers Salmo and Emis Killa, Fedez and Gu©, but also bands like Verdena, Baustelle, and Marlene Kuntz, and American stars like Michael Franti. And DJs like Goldie, cultural figures like (Nobel winning playwright) Dario Fo and (his wife) Franca Rame, (leftist comedian) Paolo Rossi, and (actor) Fabrizio Bentivogli.”
“Today,” the cultural organizer emphasized, “is not just a sad day for the antagonism, but for culture in Milan. Leoncavallo, with its antagonistic counterculture, has had a strong impact on the city’s artistic choices over the last 50 years, and has been a vehicle and generator of high and other cultures.” For some years now, “guided tours have been offered to Dauntaun, the underground space of Leoncavallo, where over the years,” explained ‘Flipper’, “various graffiti artists and artists have come and gone, their works being very well preserved because the space was closed for 15 years and was placed under the protection of the City of Milan’s Fine Arts Office. It has been restored and is open to visitors once a month. It is a fragment of Milan’s artistic history, with graffiti dating from 1996 to 2005, evidence of the first graffiti jam sessions, where the artists would all draw together, intersecting one ‘piece’ with another in a collective work.”