Following the December 12 , 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing , carried out in the middle of the '' autunno caldo '' of 1969 ( Hot Autumn ) , he was arrested by the police . A taximan testified having seen him on the Piazza a short time before the bombing , which left 17 dead and 88 injured . His testimony was not considered reliable , even if made in good faith . Another anarchist , Giuseppe Pinelli , was also arrested for the bombing , and died a few days later while he was illegally detained by the police . Pietro Valpreda 's name was splashed across the media as " the monster of Piazza Fontana " and the television reporter Bruno Vespa claimed that " the guilty man has been found " . For three years , he languished in jail , awaiting trial . All over Italy , there were huge pro-Valpreda demonstrations and the trial was moved to the deep south , to avoid " political interference " . Valpreda published his prison diaries , entitled '' It Is Him '' – the words used by the alleged witness , taxi driver Cornelio Rolandi
Piazza Fontana bombing
Piazza Fontana bombing
Pietro Valpreda