Ekaterina P. Naumova

The article is a study of the role and importance of the Italian Action Party (Partito d’Azione, PdA) in the formation of the country's managerial elite. The article analyzes the most significant aspects of the PdA's activities that influenced the political processes of Italy during the period of armed resistance against fascism and Nazism, as well as in the first post-war years, when the legal foundations of the country's democratic development were laid. The author tried to determine the degree of involvement of the PdA and its leaders in the political life of the country. He deliberately introduced into the text of the article a large number of names – representatives of the intellectual elite, who are widely known in Italy. The author concludes that the PdA had a great impact on the professional competence and effectiveness of the party, political and managerial elite of Italy in the 40s, as well as on the formation of a new intellectual and ideological elite of the country.

The article presents a study of the role of the press as the primary tool for organizational development and ideological consolidation of the Action Party (Partito d’Azione, PdA) in Italy during its formative period (1942–1944).

The first part details the party's historical origins, its organizational formation within the left wing of the anti-fascist movement, and the creation of its official printed organ—the newspaper “L’Italia Libera” (January 1943). The article analyzes the key functions of the party press (informational, mobilizational, ideological, organizational-coordinating, and consolidating) and the methods of underground publishing that allowed it to adapt to the conditions of secrecy, repression, war, and resource scarcity: a decentralized network of printing houses, “safe houses,” a strict secrecy regime, and a specialized editorial team. Based on archival materials, the PD's programmatic statements, memoirs, and underground publications, the authors demonstrate how “L’Italia Libera” shaped the party's ideological image, heroized its fighters, debunked the myths of the fascist regime, and proposed an alternative for Italy's post-war political structure. The research emphasizes that the printed organ became the main tool for the PD's organizational development, contributing to its transformation into one of the leading forces of the Italian Resistance.

The article presents a study of the role of the press as the primary tool for organizational development and ideological consolidation of the Action Party (Partito d’Azione, PdA) in Italy during its formative period (1942–1944).

In the second part, the focus shifts to the evolution of the party press from a single central organ to an extensive network of regional, local, and partisan publications (from September 1943 to the summer of 1944). The article describes how the PD scaled up the successful experience of "L’Italia Libera" by establishing daily and weekly newspapers in major cities, as well as numerous local leaflets, bulletins, and thematic journals "Quaderni" (for example, "Quaderni dell’Italia Libera," "Quaderni del Partito d’Azione," "Nuovi quaderni di Giustizia e Libertà"). The diversity of themes and regional specificity of the publications are analyzed: agrarian, industrial-plant, youth, women’s, and partisan publications, reflecting the particularities of local conditions and target audiences. The authors demonstrate how decentralized methods of underground publishing (different printing houses, safe houses, a network of correspondents) maintained flexibility and effectiveness under wartime conditions, allowing the press to fulfill functions of informational counteraction, mobilization, and ideological consolidation at all organizational levels. Finally, the article explores the influence of this multi-level press system on strengthening party connections, expanding its membership base, and preparing the PD for its role as one of the main political actors in the anti-fascist movement and in Italy's post-war democratic project.