Leoncavallo eviction, Piantedosi: "It wasn't brought forward; on the contrary. A dutifully logical move was made in Milan."
August 23, 2025
Milan, August 23, 2025 – The eviction of the Leoncavallo building in Milan “was not brought forward; in fact, we were sentenced for a delay in carrying out the eviction. I remind everyone that we paid and were sentenced to pay 3.3 million euros for that delay just for the previous ten years, and any delay would have resulted in further compensation,” said Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi , speaking on the sidelines of the Rimini Meeting. “You will understand,” he added, “that it could no longer be postponed once it was possible to return the property; an operation that was at least dutifully logical was carried out.” “ CasaPound is also back; as prefect of Rome, I was the one who included it on the list of centers to be evicted ; sooner or later its turn will come, ” he added.
The eviction of Milan's historic social center began at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, a surprise move ( even for Mayor Giuseppe Sala, who didn't hide his irritation ) with the execution of the eviction order from the former paper mill occupied on September 8, 1994. It was widely expected that the "police force" action would materialize before September 9 , the date rescheduled last month when the bailiff showed up for the 133rd time on Via Watteau to serve the order to vacate the building. "But none of us expected it to happen today," were the first reactions of the activists who flocked to the Greco neighborhood.
Many are the milestones that have marked the life of this historic social center , part of the city since October 18, 1975 , the day of the first occupation of a small building on Via Mancinelli that overlooked Via Ruggero Leoncavallo . From a bastion of working-class identity , in the 1980s Leoncavallo became a point of reference for independent music . Then, in 1989, the area of that first building passed to the Cabassi group . Then came the first attempted eviction and the violent clashes. In 1994, the area was abandoned . Then the assignment of a location on Via Salomone . Another eviction . And the occupation of the former paper mill on Via Wattau . The eviction had been expected since 2003 at the request of the owner and could no longer be postponed, also due to the cold shower that arrived in November last year when the judges had ordered the Ministry of the Interior to pay 3 million euros to the owner, for having been "in breach" of contract for an occupation that lasted 30 years .
The Leoncavallini have announced a national demonstration for September 6th . A response to the eviction, a march featuring the slogans "Hands off the city " and "against the fascist government, gentrification, and expropriation of public and self-managed assets." Not only that, the Anti-Fascist Mothers of Leonka have relaunched the "Resistance Fund" fundraiser in preparation for the demonstration and the potential costs of redeveloping the new space to be used as a social center. Meanwhile, the property has regained possession of the building. The alarm systems have been reactivated, and the bathroom fixtures will be demolished to render the building uninhabitable, while law enforcement continues to monitor the situation.
Il Giorno
