The direction of the
Italian Communist Party , or ''PCI''. It was founded by
Achille Occhetto , last secretary of the PCI and first of the PDS.
The logo of the PDS consisted mainly of an
Oak tree that retained, in a small circle at the tree's roots, the previous symbol of the Italian Communist Party; this was done both to indicate the party's roots, and to avoid that the
Communist Refoundation Party could make use of it immediately after the split between the two.
The PDS later merged with some smaller left-wing movements to form the
Left-Wing Democrats , dropping the
Hammer And Sickle for the classic social-democratic symbol, the
Red Rose . The former PCI symbol was then taken over by the
Party Of Italian Communists .
