Curator Eva-Maria Bertschy talks to Douglas Estevam, an activist with Brazil’s Movimento Sem Terra, one of the world’s largest movements for land rights. They set out a series of reflections on the autonomous peasant republic of Piana degli Albanesi. They talk about the possibility of forming an international movement,
the potential for political mobilisation of a collective memory and the “Mamma Perdonami” project by the artist Genny Petrotta.
EMB: The Autonomous Peasant Republic of Piana degli Albanesi was founded at a time of great political uncertainty. Sicily had been occupied by American forces since 1943. With the fall of Mussolini, the fascists had officially been removed from power, but many of their former cadres remained in office. A separatist movement was formed in Sicily, fighting for an autonomous Sicily, in which the large landowners as well as the mafia and former fascist cadres took part. Peasants and the general population were suffering from hunger. A large part of the economic system had collapsed and, at the same time, the feudal system of the big landowners was still intact, forcing small farmers to give away large parts of their crops. In that context peasant revolts broke out all over Sicily. To what extent is this historical episode of the Autonomous Republic of Peasants of Piana Degli Albanesi in Sicily interesting for understanding the current struggles of small farmers for land rights?
DE: Towards the end of a war, there are different players who position themselves to assure future control over a certain territory, as we will be able to observe again when an end is in sight in Ukraine or Gaza. In the case of Sicily at the end of the Second World War, the United States were already taking advantage of this situation.
They did not hesitate to ally with the mafia or former fascist cadres in this geopolitical dispute. At the same time, there is forced recruitment into the army and a shortage of food because the State continues to use all its resources to maintain and feed the armies. It was in this context that a resistance movement was formed. The population became aware of the colonisation of their land and began to fight against the large landowners. But they also rebelled against the state that was waging a war that demanded a great deal of sacrifice from them, but from which they were not benefiting.
Because who are the ones who are fighting the war? The peasants, the poor classes.
EMB: Towards the end of the Second World War, a major global upheaval began to take shape, similar to the one we’re experiencing now. We don’t know what’s going to happen with all the wars and power shifts at a global level. It’s a moment of openness, of new possibilities for thinking about people’s histories.
DE: The end of the Second World War marked also the beginning of many decolonisation movements around the world. People from the colonies, whether in Africa or the West Indies, went to Europe to fight with the Europeans against fascism, but they were faced with a reproduction of discrimination. When they returned home, they pushed these decolonisation movements. Frantz Fanon, for example, who was in France alongside the French, and many others who came from Africa in particular, started independence movements in their countries on their return. We know that the process of unity in Europe, especially in Italy, was always very complex.
So it’s interesting to see that even in Italy, a decolonisation movement was taking shape.
EMB: What you say is very interesting. Because those young people who founded the peasant republic in Piana degli Albanesi had just come back from the war. They’d all served as soldiers, so they were returning to their homeland after years of war. And that’s when they rebelled against the big landowners.
DE: At that time, there was an alliance between the most ancient powers, these feudal powers linked to the land, who are surviving in a more democratic, more modern framework by joining forces with the far right. This alliance still exists today, in the global movement of the far right, which continues to grow. In Brazil, the United States and Europe, the far right collaborates with the big landowners. It is an ancient force that survives in the contemporary system. Pasolini, in his film on the African Orestes, spoke of conservative modernisation.
In his view, these (neo-)feudal powers are countered by a popular power born out of the roots of the peasants and their relationship with the land, a force of nature represented by the peasants. Generally speaking, in a context of war, the oppressed become aware of their situation in a more radical way,
and try to push for autonomy, self-determination and independence.
EMB: These communities were very isolated at the time. People were on the move because it was the end of the war and the soldiers were returning home. But it’s a situation in which it’s difficult to get organised.
DE: Even if the movement didn’t succeed at the time, there’s also the force of memory. This historic episode has left its mark on people’s minds in the region. It remains a powerful force for mobilisation, as a source of hope. These experiences are never completely eliminated. It’s a memory that remains alive and that can still touch people and mobilise them.
EMB: It’s a political and cultural heritage that we have to take care of.
DE: How did the utopia of an autonomous republic emerge in a context like this? How could they imagine a scenario of radical change in the world after a long period of war? There must have been a lot of seeds of hope that were already starting to grow during the war. Then, at some point, they said: No, we’re going to do things differently. And then all these forces came in to suffocate these hopes and control the situation.
EMB: This utopia was also born because this community had a very strong identity and traditions.
DE: It might be interesting for the work to ask the question: what identity and what history of the community were they able to appropriate as a source of power and strength to fight for?
Photo credits: Installation opening of ‘MAMMA PERDONAMI’ at Orto Botanico di Palermo during the Metamorphosis (2024). Elisa Capellini