Paolo Virno

Paolo Virno is an Italian Marxist philosopher, semiologist and theoretician of politics. From the 1970s, he has been actively engaged in political activities, campaigning for the organization ‘Potere Operaio’ (‘Power of Workers’). In 1979, Virno was arrested and accused of belonging to the terrorist organization ‘Red Brigades’. He spent three years in prison and was under prosecution until his eventual acquittal in 1987. He has been the editor of two major political journals: ‘Metropoli’ and ‘Luogo Comune’, and since 1993, has been teaching philosophy at universities in Italy and Canada. He is currently Professor of Philosophy at Roma Tre University.