Aldo Capitini: The nonviolent opposition to Fascism

Abstract

The origins of Aldo Capitini’s nonviolent method go back to his staunch opposition to the fascist regime. It is precisely in the thirties and early forties that Capitini begins to lay the foundations of what will be internationally known as the Italian path to Gandhism. Neologisms such as nonviolence and noncollaboration are enriching the patrimony of information and tools of the peace sciences, providing us with the basic conceptual instruments for the transformation of conflicts and the construction of environments free of violence. The article explores the intellectual and existential journey that led Aldo Capitini to make the choice of nonviolence, putting him in permanent dialogue with authors such as Piero Gobetti, Mahatma Gandhi and Carlo Raimondo Michelstaedter.