CasaPound

CasaPound Italia (CPI; "House of [Ezra] Pound"), officially CasaPound Italia – CPI, is an Italian neo-fascist movement. It was formerly a political party, born as a network of far-right social centres arising from the occupation of a state-owned building by squatters in the neighborhood of Esquilino in Rome on 26 December 2003. Subsequently, CasaPound spread with other instances of squatting, demonstrations and various initiatives, becoming a political movement. In June 2008, CasaPound established its own association. In June 2019, CasaPound announced that it no longer was a political party and promoted itself as a social movement.

History

The first occupation made using the name CasaPound was in Rome on 26 December 2003. It was done by a group of young people referring to the ONC/OSA area (an acronym for Occupazioni Non Conformi and Occupazioni a Scopo Abitativo, meaning "Non-Compliant Occupations and Occupations with a Housing Purpose"), and came from previous experience of CasaMontag (named after Guy Montag) at the gates of Rome. The building, a state-owned building via Napoleone III, was later used as the national headquarters of the movement and the association. By 2010, 23 families and a total of 82 people were living in CasaPound-occupied building.

In June 2008, CasaPound constituted an "association of social promotion"; the party's symbol is the "Arrowed Turtle". Previously, CasaPound was associated with Tricolour Flame until 2008, before it created its own movement, CasaPound Italy, extending all over Italy with many social centres. While CPI does not recognize the classic definitions of right and left, it is commonly placed in the category of the political groups and movements of the Italian radical right. CasaPound is generally self-defined by its followers as Third Position.