The conflicts of 1977 began with a student occupation at the University of Rome to protest education reforms. This quickly escalated into a fully-fledged guerrilla battle with the police on the streets of Rome. The conflicts spread to other Italian university towns and trade unions and political parties were also dragged into the conflict. After a student was killed during a demonstration in May, riots broke out.
This photo was taken by Paolo Pedrizzetti in Milan during the riots. It depicts a young man in a ski mask who was a member of a far-left organization who turned their guns against the police, killing officer Antonio Custra on May 14th ‘77. The image became synonymous with The Years of Lead and spoke of the culmination of years of struggle between neo-fascists and the radical left to control the political future of the Italian Republic.
The thing is, this is what they had to work against .