Agostino Novella (28 September 1905 – 14 September 1974) was an Italian trade unionist and communist politician.

Biography

Born in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, Novella worked in a shoe factory, then was apprenticed as a blacksmith in his father's workshop. He joined the Socialist Youth Federation in 1920, becoming active in the anti-fascist movement, and by 1923 was serving on the federation's national committee. However, in 1924, he led the whole of the Genoa federation into the

Communist Party of Italy The Italian Communist Party (, PCI) was a communist and democratic socialist political party in Italy. It was established in Livorno as the Communist Party of Italy (, PCd'I) on 21 January 1921, when it seceded from the Italian Socialist Part ...

(PCdI). In 1925, Novella undertook national service with the military, but he continued his political activities, and as a result spent time in military prison. He was discharged the following year, and became a leading supporter of

Gramsci Antonio Francesco Gramsci ( , ; ; 22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosopher, linguist, journalist, writer, and politician. He wrote on philosophy, political theory, sociology, history, and linguistics. He was a fo ...

, serving on the central committee of the

Italian Communist Youth Federation The Italian Communist Youth Federation (, FGCI) was the youth wing of the Italian Communist Party (''Partito Comunista Italiano''; PCI), and the direct heir of the Federazione Giovanile Comunista d'Italia of the PCd'I. In 2016 it was refounded ...

(FGCI). In November, he was sentenced to four years in prison in absentia, but he evaded capture until the middle of 1927. He was then imprisoned, being released in 1931 and exiled to France, where he became secretary of the FGCI. He undertook numerous missions for the group, also serving on the executive of the Communist Youth International, and studying at the Tolmačev School in Leningrad, and

Sverdlov Communist University The Sverdlov Communist University (Russian language, Russian: Коммунистический университет имени Я. М. Свердлова) was a school for Soviet activists in Moscow, founded in 1918 as the Central School for Sovi ...

. Novella was arrested in 1942, but the Vichy regime was unaware of his true identity, and so he was soon released. In 1943, he managed to clandestinely re-enter Italy, and began organising an opposition group, from a base in Milan. From 1945, he served on the central committee of the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party (, PCI) was a communist and democratic socialist political party in Italy. It was established in Livorno as the Communist Party of Italy (, PCd'I) on 21 January 1921, when it seceded from the Italian Socialist Part ...

(PCI), and in 1946, he was elected to the assembly of the

Province of Genoa The province of Genoa () was a province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Genoa. It was replaced by Metropolitan City of Genoa. Overview It has an area of and a total population of about 0.9 million (2009). There are ...

. Novella worked as the PCd'I's regional secretary for

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

, then

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, then from 1948 was the principal organiser of the

Italian General Confederation of Labour The Italian General Confederation of Labour (, , CGIL ) is a national trade union centre in Italy. It was formed by an agreement between socialists, communists, and Christian democrats in the "Pact of Rome" of June 1944. In 1950, socialists and ...

(CGIL). From 1955, he was the leader of the Federation of Metallurgical Workers, then in 1958, he was elected as general secretary of CGIL. CGIL grew under his leadership, and he was also appointed as president of the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade union, trade unions established on October 3, 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the Int ...

(WFTU). However, he became critical of some tactics of the WFTU, and was replaced as its president in 1961. In 1970, CGIL voted to separate its leadership from that of the PCI; Novella chose to retain his position on the central committee of the party, and resigned as the federation's secretary. He stood down in 1972, his health worsening, and was made the party's president of international relations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Novella, Agostino 1905 births 1974 deaths Italian Communist Party politicians Italian trade unionists Politicians from Genoa Sverdlov Communist University alumni