Concept
CasaPound Italia (abbr. CPI; "House of [Ezra] Pound") is an Italian neo-fascist movement and 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. As such, in June 2008, CasaPound therefore constituted an "association of social promotion", and assumed its current name CasaPound Italia – CPI; the party's symbol is the "Arrowed Turtle". On 26 June 2019, CasaPound's leader Gianluca Iannone announced CasaPound existence as a political party had ended, going back to its original status of social movement. The first occupation made using the name CasaPound was on 26 December 2003 in Rome, by a group of young people referring to the ONC/OSA area (acronym for "Non-Compliant Occupations and Occupations with a Housing Purpose"), and coming from previous experience of CasaMontag (named after Guy Montag) at the gates of Rome. The building, a state-owned building in via Napoleone III, later has been used as the national headquarters of the movement and the association. In 2010, 23 families and a total of 82 people lived in CasaPound occupied building. Previously, CasaPound was associated with Tricolour Flame until 2008 but now has 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, however. In 2011 it was estimated that CasaPound Italy had 5,000 members, while in 2017 they reached 6,000. On 13 November 2017, Simone Di Stefano was elected secretary and nominal prime ministerial candidate for the 2018 general election, although the party subsequently formally stated that it hoped Northern League leader Matteo Salvini became Prime Minister.
