The book "Fuga all’Inferno e altre storie" was published in 2006 by a left-wing journal with a foreword (written by Valentino Parlato, an Italian journalist born in Libya) very critical about Italy that never acknowledged faults and damages of colonization in Libya. Little spoken then forgot, some reminder now on the anniversary of the killing of Gaddafi.
It 's my opinion that Italians, ignoring the gravity of colonial rule over Libya, 1911 - 1943, did not understand the 2008 treaty in which Italy agreed to pay £4.5bn over 20 years as compensation for Italy's colonisation and the asking for forgiveness- (even if by that time italian business in Libia flourished!)
Therefore, anger incited by media spread in 2010 during Gaddafy’s visit in Rome: an exaggerated show, bad Hollywood style, especially the hundreds of girls recruited as audience when he gave lessons on Quran.
At the time of that annoying choreography, Italy was at the beginning of the economic crisis and Berlusconi's popularity on the decline.
This discomfort increased in 2011 when italians msm brainwashed on Gaddafi sending bombers over Benghazi to “kill his people”.
To those asking a condemnation, Berlusconi’s answer was maximally stupid "I do not want to disturb him". The indignation grew, it became impossible for Italy not to support NATO - Remember that if he had not done, the planes could not take off from our bases and Italy would be in an untenable situation with the Allies.
I think that Berlusconi should have - in parallel but independently from Chavez - decide to support a dialog: fly to Tripoli, sweep away Gaddafi ‘s illusion that UN and NATO were still, endorse the proposals for dialogue that the Libyan government had done to the insurgents, so forcing the international community to take time.
The fate of Libya, and of the two leaders, was caused by the lack of courage of Berlusconi (PM of a country NATO!) and by the naive faith that Gaddafi had in the friendship of Obama-, because both mistakes went for the benefit of interventionist France and England.