Introduction or preface

This survey examines the debate which took place both in the public arena and among historians in the 50th anniversary of Palmiro Togliatti's death. This debate overlapped, more than in other circumstances, with the publication of many of Togliatti's writings, including a selection of his correspondence and a large anthology of speeches and writings - remarkably, this was published in a «classics of political thought» series. On the whole, a certain tendency to «demonize» Togliatti is still alive, but it seems to us that - especially through the most authoritative press and some radio and tv cultural programmes - a more balanced appraisal of Togliatti is emerging.