The 1976 general elections were held in a period of serious economic and social cri-sis marked by not only ideological violence, but also a generalized phenomenon of rejection and delegitimization of politics. However, the elections for the 7th legislature rewarded Aldo Moro and Benigno Zaccagnini's renovation project, proposed during the 13th Christian Democrats' National Congress. Nevertheless, the election results polarized the Italian political framework because of the growing approval for the Communist Party. In that context, the so-called "historic compromise" between the Christian Democracy (Dc) and the Italian Communist Party (Pci) was reached. This article, based on unedited documents, retraces one of the tenser and more dramatic p...