He was discharged the following year, and became a leading supporter of Gramsci, serving on the central committee of the Italian Communist Youth Federation (FGCI).

In 1943, he managed to clandestinely re-enter Italy, and began organising an opposition group, from a base in Milan.

From 1945, he served on the central committee of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), and in 1946, he was elected to the assembly of the Province of Genoa.

[1] Novella worked as the PCd'I's regional secretary for Liguria, then Lombardy, then from 1948 was the principal organiser of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL).

In 1970, CGIL voted to separate its leadership from that of the PCI; Novella chose to retain his position on the central committee of the party, and resigned as the federation's secretary.