Reformist of the Italian Socialist Party who helped draft the Zimmerwald Manifesto, elder brother of the painter Amedeo Modigliani
Italian lawyer, politician and anti-fascist, born into a Jewish family in Livorno, the elder brother of the painter Amedeo Modigliani. He founded the Livorno section of the Italian Socialist Party in 1894 and stood on the left of its reformist wing. Opposing Italy's entry into the First World War, he attended the Zimmerwald conference and drafted its manifesto with Trotsky and Rakovsky. A deputy from 1913, he took part in the Aventine secession, was stripped of his seat in 1926 and went into exile. In 1947 he became president of the Socialist Party of Italian Workers.
Activities and affiliations
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1894–1922
Italian Socialist Party (PSI)Main
Political and party leadership -
1913–1926
Italy state institutionsMember of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
Legislature and state representation
Career Timeline
- 1894Founded the Livorno section of the Italian Socialist Party.
- 1898Arrested in Piacenza and sentenced to six months.
- 1913Elected to the Chamber of Deputies.
- 1915.09Attended the Zimmerwald conference.
- 1926Stripped of his seat and went into exile.
- 1944Returned to Italy.
- 1947.01.11Joined the Palazzo Barberini split and became president of the PSLI.
From Zimmerwald to anti-fascist exile
Modigliani was drawn to the socialist movement while studying law at Pisa. He founded the Livorno section of the Italian Socialist Party in 1894, became a city councillor the next year, and promoted chambers of labour and the spread of socialism across Tuscany. In 1898 he was arrested in Piacenza, where he ran a newspaper, tried together with the whole socialist leadership and sentenced to six months. He shared the reformism of Filippo Turati while standing on its far left, and was close to Gaetano Salvemini.
Strongly opposed to Italy's entry into the First World War, he attended the Zimmerwald conference in 1915 and drafted the anti-war Zimmerwald Manifesto with Christian Rakovsky and Leon Trotsky. A deputy from 1913, his skill in debate and thorough preparation served the reforms of the Chamber's rules in 1920 and 1922. In the party disputes of the 1920s he tried, without success, to prevent the split between reformists and maximalists.
On 1 May 1921 he was attacked by squadristi on a train between Pisa and Viareggio, yet he was among the promoters of the pacification pact between socialists and fascists that August. He took part in the Aventine secession in 1924, and when he was stripped of his seat with the other opposition deputies in 1926 he returned to the law and represented the civil party in the trial for the murder of Giacomo Matteotti. The same year he went into exile, first in Austria and then in France, continuing anti-fascist propaganda and becoming the Italian representative in the Socialist International.