STAMPA, LA

(Italian: The Press), morning daily newspaper published in Turin, one of Italy's most influential newspapers. It was established in 1868 as the Gazetta Piedmontese and became an important voice in Italy's struggle for liberation and unification. The Gazetta was purchased in 1895 by two of its editors, Luigi Roux and Alfred Frassati, who changed the paper's name to La Stampa. When Mussolini came to power in 1926, Frassati was still editor and, by then, sole proprietor, and La Stampa was famous as a liberal journal with an intellectual tone and as a staunch defender of democracy. Rejecting invitations to support the Fascists, Frassati sold the paper and left the business. A Fascist staff took over, and the paper became a propaganda sheet. After World War II La Stampa, temporarily renamed La Nuova Stampa, reappeared as a quality paper, carrying on its prewar tradition. It has maintained its long-standing concern for Italian social problems.