Visconte Grisi died on May 29, 2026. I knew he had serious health problems, but it is nonetheless the death of a comrade and a friend whom I will miss, and I will not be the only one.
In this case, I have defined him as comrade and friend, placing the two terms on the same level because it would be difficult for me to define a priority in our relationship: a personal relationship on the one hand, and a shared path of study, research, and development on the other.On the other hand, Visconte Grisi, although characterized by a certain simplicity of character, was undeniably a complex person, with a wide variety of interests and the ability to maintain a decidedly vast network of relationships. Browsing through some of the obituaries circulating online, it's striking that there are those from USI, SICobas, and CUB, as well as those from the Pietro Gori circle, the editorial staff of Umanità Nova, and the Proletari Comunisti. I'll mention only those that come to mind to give an idea of the breadth of his connections.
Very schematically, I think it's enough to recall that he was born in Cutro, near Crotone, on April 2, 1944, that his father was a doctor and that medicine was somewhat of a family profession, that he himself was almost forced to continue, that in his early youth he spent time in boarding school, and that, like many people of his and our generation, his process of politicization coincided somewhat with the cycle of struggles of '68.
At the end of the 1960s, Visconte chose a political path completely different from that of this writer, a path that would nevertheless lead to their convergence in the 1970s; He joined the PCML, one of the many Maoist groups developing during that period. As he told me-smilingly-he squandered the legacy he had earned by supporting this group and lived through its trajectory until its rather rapid dissolution.
The context in which we met, and I'm not just referring to myself, was the rather unique one known as the Milanese Autonomous Area, a complex network of factory and local collectives where a mutual sympathy and attention developed that, had we started from general political positions, would have been highly unlikely. Visconte developed a relationship with the autonomous workers' collectives of OM, Siemens, particularly Unidal, and other companies. Interestingly, the relationship was fostered by the radical classism of these collectives, which were completely alien to the Negrian and/or party-oriented tendencies that characterized various sectors of the Autonomous Area. To quote Visconte himself, we shared an empiricist approach, an interest in the true nature of social conflict and capitalist domination, and a connection with a network of grassroots activists. At the heart of this encounter was, precisely, the classist option and the rejection of the avant-garde and armed struggle tendencies that led to the collapse of the Autonomous Movement.
Having clarified, I hope, the importance of Visconte Grisi's approach and human qualities, I believe it should be clarified that these characteristics only partially explain our relationship. I fully realize this precisely when I reflect on Visconte's work and try to organize his writings-or, rather, when I fail to collect them all. I have indeed become aware of the wealth of material he has produced on medicine, both from the perspective of investigation and scientific development, on the evolution of the capitalist economy, on war and the changing global political landscape, on investigation-both into corporate struggles and movements-and on many other topics.
A massive undertaking that, in my opinion, requires organization and publication, not only as recognition of the political and human experience of an important comrade, but also and above all as a contribution to a collective effort to construct a critical theory of existence.
It is in moments like these that one realizes how many themes could and should have been developed and how, at least as far as I'm concerned, the predominance of immediate militant activity has diverted time and energy from in-depth exploration that would have been useful and timely.
A singular aspect, at least from my perspective, of Visconte's relationship with the libertarian world is that he was evidently drawn to it in a somewhat casual manner, feeling at ease with a group of comrades. But it is also clear that, almost imperceptibly, he developed a libertarian sensibility, which he arrived at not through youthful impetuosity, but through a very solid experience, both in terms of activism and of his studies.
A significant part of our relationship was our collaboration, first on "Collegamenti per l'organizzazione diretta di classe" (Connections for the Direct Class Organization), and then, concurrently, on Umanità Nova. Just reading his articles reveals that behind each of them lay a reflection and study of the issues he wrote about, as well as the building of a collaborative relationship with the editorial staffs of both newspapers.
I apologize if I repeat myself, but I believe it would be important to publish as broad a collection of his writings as quickly as possible.
Cosimo Scarinzi
https://umanitanova.org/in-ricordo-di-visconte-grisi-un-compagno-dalle-grandi-qualita-umane-e-dalla-grande-capacita-di-lavoro/
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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