The article examines the personality of the leader of the Italian Communist Party Enrico Berlinguer through the prism of his formation as a communist leader, theorist and practitioner of the communist movement. The authors analyze the four most important stages in the activities of the head of the PCI. The first of these is connected with the development of a special position of the PCI in relation to the CPSU and Soviet actions in Eastern Europe; the second is due to the development of the strategy of «Eurocommunism»; the third is related to the development and implementation of the concept of «historical compromise»; the fourth is characterized by the raising of a «moral question». The authors argue that Berlinguer continued the strategic line of the founders of the ICP A. Gramsci, P. Togliatti to develop the concept of a special «Italian path to socialism». The authors consider the discussions in Italy in connection with the assessment of Berlinguer's heritage. In their opinion, the theoretical legacy and practical actions of Berlinguer played an important role in the democratic transformation of the Communist Party and in the strengthening of democratic institutions in Italy.