all the time from one cell to another to such an extent that the cells looked quite different there was a continual movement of people and things shifted around carried from one cell to another a continual movement of objects of clothes of things it had all become a great bivouac a party
the atmosphere there was euphoric there was a festive atmosphere I can remember this great euphoria this excitement this festivity and what everyone was saying over and over again and what they were convinced of was that there could never ever be a military intervention by the guards by the carabinieri by the police by the forces of repression and this all because of there being nineteen guards held hostage and this made a break-in nearly impossible because it would have been very dangerous for the guards held hostage I can remember that there were no worries I can remember there was no anxiety whatsoever I can remember there was euphoria and excitement there was this mechanism triggered in everybody’s head to see this situation as holding no danger and making everybody feel they were at a party
10
Things were hectically busy at the Cantinone there was somebody doing electrical work and they’d run in an electric cable attached to the outside wiring of the old people’s home there was somebody doing plumbing and they’d fixed the pipes and so we had water too there were some doing building work they’d gone and got their tools and they’d started filling up the holes in the floor and fixing the tiles there were some doing carpentry and building wooden frames for the windows and then covering them with plastic sheets and at the far end of the big room with the planks and beams we’d found there we were building a big stage for the concerts and performances we wanted to put on the opening concert had already been announced with a poster and leaflets the comrades were giving out wherever they went
three or four old men from the home next door had also turned up and were recalling the days when the Cantinone had been an osterìa and had had huge casks tables and benches running the whole length of it because that was where the peasants met to drink wine and play cards and we promised them that we’d put back the casks and the benches and the wine like there used to be then a bunch of comrades who’d gone out to advertise the concert arrive back with the cars full of stuff to eat we think they’ve stolen it and we get mad but instead it had been some shopkeepers who’d given us packs of drinks and pasta and then some Neapolitan guys turn up who worked in a pizzerìa they arrived with a pile of pizzas so there was food for everybody
at the same time the first working groups had been formed and had moved into the rooms on the first floor Valeriana and a group of women were meeting to set up a collectively run clinic others were planning a counterinformation service on soft and hard drugs others were discussing food and the counterculture others music film theatre there’s a decision to get in touch with the youth circles in other towns that we’ve heard from to exchange news and experiences and to set up a resource centre with their newspapers and their documents and in another room on the first floor a press office was already in full-time operation with typewriters and duplicators parcels of leaflets of press releases announcements documents were piling up on the tables of the press office waiting to go out
the evening of the concert arrives and the bands arrive from the different surrounding villages the sound system is set up the lights are ready the lights cast bright-coloured stains on the whitewashed walls of the big hall and the bands begin turning up they play all at the same time and the intermingled sounds pour out into the street and fill the air people are arriving loads of people young people are arriving from all over and not so young too the street outside is transformed into a car park with all the cars jammed into it there’s a sea of heads everyone sitting on the benches and on the ground tapping their feet and all this echoing out as the bright-coloured lights turn faster and faster I look about to see where China is and I see her against the wall with Gelso whose head’s shaking with laughter his hair hanging right over his face when he lifts it he sees me and waves for me to go over there too
the party was at its height there was such euphoria such great excitement people coming in and out in and out indescribable confusion they all really liked the place we should stay there they said we should stay there whatever it took we’d do terrific things in the Cantinone the music was blaring out loud as can be in the thick of the crowd I meet Scilla carrying a 15-inch spanner saying there are too many phoneys here I spot one he gets his stuffing knocked out Scilla was the only glum face in the entire place they were all looking at the stage where somebody was singing I love to play pound out my music all day but I don’t earn my wages that way for I play like a mule I’m a wild boy I wanna win I’m kinda rough but believe me I’m cool and I went to be with China right under the stage and I stayed right there holding her close while the music blared out loud as can be
suddenly the music stops Scilla has gone up on to the stage and over the microphone he says the cultural assessore* is here outside with a message from the mayor and the council people roared with laughter saying bring him in here to us and we’ll eat him up the cultural assessore is young small and nervous with a little moustache and a white raincoat and he’d been a 68’er he waits patiently until the voices quieten down to let him speak and then he says I must tell you that the situation is urgent we’ve just had a telephone call from the chief constable telling us that you’ll be cleared out of here within twenty-four hours by order in the name of the council and the mayor I’m appealing once again to reasonableness and good sense evacuate the Cantinone and we promise you room in the new multi-purpose centre as soon as the work on it is finished
uproar and shouting come from every part of the hall then Nocciola begins speaking you’re conning us first you go and say that we’re provocateurs and fascists then that you want to find somewhere just for us the truth is that you’re shit-scared about your council majority because if it was up to you you’d be the first to call the police but we know very well that this story of the multi-purpose centre is a fairytale you only have to look at how little you’ve cared about our problems in the past no no the assessore bravely interrupts him I want to point out that this is a slander the problems of young people are problems of great concern to us in the next budget we’ve allowed for considerable expenditure on youth and culture but there are timetables that have to be respected however I assure you that a satisfactory solution will be found for your problems too
you should have talked to us about it first he says in a conciliatory tone you should have trusted us and together we’d have found a satisfactory solution I think the needs underlying what you’ve done here are valid what isn’t valid however is the way you imagine you’re going to satisfy them together we must find another way but meanwhile the Cantinone needs to be cleared before any irreparable damage is done people have had enough out out everyone’s shouting I’m waiting for an answer I’ll only leave here when I’ve got your answer whether it’s negative or affirmative he manages to add then from the stage Valeriana gets some silence and she says the decision is up to the floor and we must all discuss it but not while he’s here and if he wants he can wait outside and we’ll give him our decision later
Scilla escorts him outside and before leaving the stage he raises his arm holding up the spanner thunderous applause breaks out everyone’s shouting we in the collective don’t really know what to do we confer briefly then Cotogno takes the microphone comrades we can’t leave here under the threat of police intervention if we clear out of here voluntarily now letting ourselves be blackmailed by the mayor and the parties then we’ve lost we must decide what’s the best thing to do whether to stay here and defend the occupation which means confrontation or not I think that for the time being confrontation isn’t in our interest I think it would split the movement whether we win or lose in military terms because whatever happens we’ll lose politically and even if we win in military terms we’ll be up against an unmanageable situation
we must decide what’s in our best interest for the growth and strengthening of this movement and so the most pressing problem for us is not to preserve the Cantinone at any price the problem is that we must preserve this strength that we’ve built and that’s why we must say no to the voluntary evacuation they’re
