The aim of the present thesis was to identify the features of an Italian anarchist in the twentieth century. For this reason, following the model proposed by Carlo Ginzburg in The Cheese and the Worms, an analysis is presented of the case of an anarchist militant who was considered an exception within his movement. In this connection, the life of Camillo Berneri was chosen for his role in the anarchistic movement. This Italian intellectual can be considered as a very important example of the anarchist movement, given that he spent all his life in this political organisation and he became a martyr of the libertarian revolution in Spain. Nevertheless, Camillo Berneri could also be taken as a unique specimen inside the anarchist movement, considering that his political and philosophical positions incited several discussions in the heart of his movement. In order to understand the character of this intellectual, Camillo Berneri’s representation both by the police and by the anarchists is analysed in this thesis, as well as his intellectual formation and the relationship between the political positions and militant activity. This study revealed a close connection between the representations of Camillo Berneri given by the police and by the anarchists; additionally, it showed that his intellectual formation was influenced by authors of various ideological orientations; and finally, that his political activity was determined by Camillo Berneri’s own vision of the anarchist movement. These observations led to a reflection on the historical meaning of belonging to the libertarian movement and the complexity of defining the traits that characterize an anarchist.
