The
Years of Lead was a period of socio-political turmoil in
Italy that lasted from the late 1960s into the early 1980s, marked by a wave of
terrorism. Among the possible origins of the name are a reference to the vast number of bullets fired, or the 1981 film
Marianne and Juliane by Margarethe von Trotta, of which the Italian title is
Anni di piombo.