ABSTRACT
In 1958 the Reggio Calabrian lawyers’ association started a protest on the question of the court. They went on strike and early in 1959 the city council joined in the protest. However, the motion was passed in its more diluted form with the thirty-eight councillors present voting unanimously in favour; they represented the neo-Fascists and Christian Democrats, Socialists and Communists. There is an indicative paragraph in the motion showing the tendency towards perceived victimisation which is often found in the political utterances of Reggini. Over the decade the loci of power in the city shifted, partly because of events at the national level and partly for local reasons. Whereas in Cosenza there is a change from the notables based on the Cassa di Risparmio to the politicians closely linked to public agencies like the Opera Sila, in Reggio the landowners gave way to those whose wealth and power is based on the building boom.
