Presentation of the book

Primo Maggio
by Stefano Gallo
il Mulino, Bologna 2025

House of Memory and History
Via San Francesco di Sales 5
Rome

May 21, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.

Poster

In 1990, Eric J. Hobsbawm wrote that May Day was celebrated in as many as 107 countries around the world; today, some websites estimate the number of countries where it is celebrated at over 160, out of a total of about 195 states.

It is the most widespread non-religious holiday on the planet, the only one that continues to maintain a strong tension between protest from below and celebration of power. Some governments still prohibit and repress it, in other states it represents the productive commitment of the working classes, elsewhere it is a day of holiday and leisure, here and there creative reinterpretations emerge linked to the demands of fringes of labour that do not feel represented by the major organisations.

The book reconstructs the history of May Day from the mid-19th century to the present day, highlighting its global and multiform dimension.

PROGRAMME

INTRODUCTORY SALUTES

Marina Pierlorenzi
Anpi Roma

Paolo Ruffini
House of Memory and History

COORDINATES

Michele Colucci
CNR-ISMed

SPEAKERS

Alessandra Gissi
L’Orientale University Naples

Edmondo Montali
Di Vittorio Foundation

Stefano Gallo
CNR-ISMed

ORGANISED BY
CNR-ISMed, House of Memory and History, Di Vittorio Foundation and Anpi Provincial Committee of Rome

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
The event is open to the public, subject to availability of places

INFO AND CONTACTS
stefano.gallo@ismed.cnr.it
https://www.ismed.cnr.it