On 9 September 1943, while fighting was going in at Porta San Paolo, Montagnola and other parts of Rome and province (Monterotondo, Monterosi, and so on) representatives of anti-fascist parties came together to form the “National Liberation Committee" (CLN), taking on responsibility for the management and political leadership of the Resistance and launching an appeal to the population. The Committee was formed by Ivanoe Bonomi (chairman); Alcide De Gasperi, Giovanni Gronchi and Giuseppe Spataro (Christian Democracy Party, DC); Ugo La Malfa, Riccardo Bauer and Sergio Fenoaltea (Action Party); Meuccio Ruini, Mario Cevolotto and Giovanni Persico (Labour Democracy Party) Giorgio Amendola, Mauro Scoccimarro and Giovanni Roveda (Communist Party, PCI); Pietro Nenni, Sandro Pertini and Giuseppe Romita (Socialist Party, PSI); Manlio Brosio, Alessandro Casati and Leone Cattani (Liberal Party, PLI). The central CLN established a ”Central Military Junta" to coordinate the fight against Nazi-fascism. The movement branched into local committees. In Rome the Roman Liberation Committee had Sergio Fenoaltea as chairman, with the participation of PCI, PSI, Action Party, DC, PLI and Labour Democracy Party.
Armed formations were associated with the CLN parties: GAPs (Patriotic Action Groups) of the Communist Party, and formations of the Action Party and the Socialist Party. They all engaged in urban guerrilla activities, carrying out armed attacks and acts of sabotage. The formations of the Christian Democrats, Labour Democracy Party and Liberal Party did not participate in urban guerrilla warfare, focusing on information and propaganda activities.
Other autonomous formations arose: Red Flag was of Communist persuasion, opposed to the line taken by the PCI, the Movement of Communist Catholics, a derivation of the “Christian Communist Party” founded in early 1943, and other neighbourhood-level formations, such as the Monte Sacro Band. All of these groups would pay a heavy price in terms of wounded and killed in combat, arrested, tortured and executed.