Domenico Pittella

Domenico Pittella (7 February 1932 – 15 April 2018) was an Italian politician who was a member of the Senate of the Republic from 1972 to 1983. A member of the Italian Socialist Party, Pittella began his career in the late 1960s and 1970s, emerging as one of the most popular members of the Regional Council of Basilicata. As a member of Basilicata's regional council, he was successfully elected to the Senate of the Republic.

In addition to politics, Pittella was a trained surgeon, which costed him a conviction when he treated Natalia Ligas, a fugitive member of the Red Brigades. As a result of the Ligas affair, he was expelled from the party and subsequently joined and founded various minor parties to establish a Southern League inspired by the Northern League. Before the final sentence in 1993, Pittella fled to France and Belgium. In 1999, he returned to Italy to complete his sentence, which was further reduced by a partial pardon and officially ended in 2000. His two sons Gianni and Marcello Pittella are also politicians. Referred to as the Pittellas, they are considered a political dynasty in the Basilicata region.