Re Nudo

Re Nudo is a historic Italian underground magazine and cultural brand that emerged from the counterculture movements of the late 1960s and 1970s. Founded in Milan in November 1970 by a group of intellectuals and artists including Andrea Valcarenghi, it was the first and longest-lived publication of Italy's underground culture, serving as a key voice of counterinformation and libertarian thought from the aftermath of 1968 through the explosion of the 1977 movement. The magazine's name comes from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale 'The Emperor's New Clothes' (known in Italian as 'the tale of the naked king'), and its first issue featured a drawing of a hippie overlaid with the text of the story. Over the decades, Re Nudo evolved through several distinct phases. The original series ran from 1970 to 1980, organizing the influential Festivals of Youth Proletariat in Lombardy from 1971 to 1977, which brought together many Italian musical groups and singer-songwriters of the era. After a brief revival in 1984, the magazine was relaunched in 1996 by Andrea Valcarenghi, focusing on holistic ecology and inner research, with contributors including Giorgio Gaber, Fabrizio De André, Franco Battiato, and Vasco Rossi. In 2008 it became a quarterly monographic publication. In 2024, journalist and writer Luca Pollini acquired the historic title, with a new series launched in November at the Teatro Lirico in Milan. Today, Re Nudo operates as a cultural brand and platform, promoting projects such as the Magical Mystery Tours and the festival 'Le Forme del Desiderio' for young artists under 35. The brand maintains an online presence at renudo.org and continues to embody the spirit of independent, countercultural expression in Italy.

Re Nudo was founded in Milan in November 1970 by a group of intellectuals and artists, including Andrea Valcarenghi. The first issue, number zero, was published as a supplement to issue 19 of Lotta Continua and featured on its cover a drawing of a hippie overlaid with the text of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale 'The Emperor's New Clothes' (known in Italian as the tale of the 'naked king'), from which the magazine took its name. The first editor-in-chief was Marco Pannella; from 1971 the role passed to Marina Valcarenghi, sister of Andrea. The essential graphics and large format were designed by Gianni-Emilio Simonetti, close to the Italian Situationist milieu. In 1971 the editorial board split over the sensitive issue of funding and advertising: in June of that year, part of the group, led by members of its 'Situationist wing' (including Gianni-Emilio Simonetti), carried out a kind of split and printed 5,000 copies of 'Re Nudo Colpo di mano'. This was a temporary provocation: from the next issue Re Nudo returned to being produced by the group led by Valcarenghi, and by the end of 1972 the magazine began to host advertising from outside the movement. In January 1972, the magazine proposed the creation of the new White Panthers movement (inspired by John Sinclair's American White Panthers), an attempt to unite traditional countercultural themes with political commitment to issues such as abortion, divorce, prison conditions, and urban periphery distress, viewed from a class-struggle perspective. This initiative led to a further split by some Roman editors, more inclined to a hippie vision of the magazine. Re Nudo continued its activity until 1980. In spring 1984, graphic designer Aldo Campanozzi gave life to an ephemeral revival of the title, publishing a single issue (A. 1 n. 1 nuova serie), far from the magazine's classic themes. The magazine Re Nudo organized the Festivals of Youth Proletariat in Lombardy from 1971 to 1977, featuring many Italian musical groups and singer-songwriters of the time. The first edition in 1971 was held in Ballabio near Lecco, the second in 1972 on the banks of the Po at Zerbo, the third in 1973 at Alpe del Viceré in the province of Como, and from the fourth to the sixth editions at Parco Lambro in Milan. On 11 July 1996, at the Giardini di Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, Andrea Valcarenghi presented issue 0 of the new series, which began regular monthly publication on 4 October of that year. The themes covered by the magazine concerned holistic ecology and inner research. Contributors included Giorgio Gaber, Claudio Rocchi, Franco Bolelli, Michele Serra, Fabrizio De André, Lidia Ravera, Franco Battiato, Barbara Alberti, Gabriele La Porta, and Vasco Rossi. In summer 2008, after 105 issues, it renewed its graphics and became a quarterly. Each issue was monographic to explore a theme in depth, with fifty extra pages dedicated to the main topic, reaching over one hundred colour pages. In 2024, journalist and writer Luca Pollini acquired the title printed until 1980, and the first issue was published and presented in November at the Teatro Lirico in Milan. Each issue is monographic: the first was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Cramps Records label, founded by Gianni Sassi, and for the occasion on 18 November at the Teatro Lirico some of the musicians produced by Sassi, such as Eugenio Finardi and Area, performed. The cultural project is broad in scope, including in June 2024 the 50th anniversary of the Festival del Parco Lambro.

• First issue (number zero) published in Milan as a supplement to Lotta Continua issue 19.

• Editorial split over funding and advertising; 'Re Nudo Colpo di mano' printed in 5,000 copies.

• First Festival del proletariato giovanile held in Ballabio near Lecco.

• Proposal to create the White Panthers movement.

• Second Festival del proletariato giovanile held on the banks of the Po at Zerbo.

• Third Festival del proletariato giovanile held at Alpe del Viceré in the province of Como.

• Fourth to sixth Festivals del proletariato giovanile held at Parco Lambro in Milan.

• Original series of Re Nudo ceases publication.

• Ephemeral revival by Aldo Campanozzi with a single issue.

• Andrea Valcarenghi presents issue 0 of the new series in Rome.

• New series begins regular monthly publication.

• After 105 issues, magazine renews graphics and becomes quarterly.

• Luca Pollini relaunches the title with a new series presented at Teatro Lirico in Milan.

Italy's first and longest-running underground counterculture magazine, a libertarian voice for alternative culture and counterinformation.

• Re Nudo magazine

  Underground counterculture magazine, published monthly/quarterly.

• Festival del proletariato giovanile

  Music festivals organized in Lombardy from 1971 to 1977.

• Magical Mystery Tours

  Cultural travel project promoted by Re Nudo.

• Le Forme del Desiderio

  Workshop and performance project for young artists under 35.

• White Panthers movement

1. 1Re Nudo official websiterenudo.org
2. 2Re Nudo - Wikipedia (Italian)it.wikipedia.org
3. 3Re Nudo - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4official_website_pagerenudo.org