ABSTRACT
A’journal of politics and culture’, Rinascita (Rebirth) was founded by Palmiro Togliatti in 1944 with the stated aim of providing ideological direction for the communist movement. Initially a monthly publication, it became a weekly in 1962. Although owned by the PCI, and playing a significant part in the education of its cadres, Rinascita was more than a party organ. It sought, often successfully, to play a significant role in political and cultural debate within Italy and internationally. It was in Rinascita that Gramsci’s letters from prison were first published, as well as Togliatti’s Yalta memorial and Berlinguer’s formulation of the historic compromise. The journal reached its highest circulation during the period of the party’s greatest success, the mid1970s, with average sales of 60,000-80,000. Circulation subsequently dropped and publication was suspended in 1989 due to financial constraints. Relaunched in a new format in 1990, Rinascita survived another year, closing just after the PCI transformed itself into the PDS.
