In the 1950s–1980s the evening paper was known for its investigative reporting about political corruption in Palermo and into the Sicilian Mafia, when the Italian Communist Party took ownership.

The paper was founded on the initiative of the entrepreneurial Florio family from Palermo with interests in shipping, shipbuilding, trade and wine industry, fisheries, mining, metallurgy and ceramics.

[1][3] Many prestigious collaborators appeared in the newspaper's cultural pages, including Matilde Serao (Scarfoglio's wife), Luigi Pirandello, Salvatore Di Giacomo and Giovanni Verga.

The retaliation of Leggio was swift: at 4:52 a.m. on October 19, 1958, a bomb of five kilos TNT exploded in front the newspaper office blowing up half the printing press.

[7] The newspaper was not intimidated: "Today’s outrage must bring home to the National Parliament the urgent necessity of a Parliamentary inquiry into the Mafia.

[8] At that time, the role of the Mafia in property speculation was not yet clear, but in later reports in 1963 and 1964 the newspaper identified the so-called VA.LI.GIO business consortium (from Vassallo-Gioia-Lima), consisting of the builder Francesco Vassallo and the two Christian Democratic leaders, Giovanni Gioia and Palermo mayor Salvo Lima which together with the DC councillor for public works, Vito Ciancimino, were responsible for destroying the layout of Palermo.

The paper also lost support of the PCI that decided to concentrate on its main publication L'Unità in combination with the historic compromise, trying to accommodate the Christian Democrats (DC).

[10] From the economic point of view the journal was kept alive thanks to the NEM (Nuova Editrice Meridionale), a company formed by the cooperatives in agreement with the Communist Party, which owned the title and the equipment.

Despite the fact that the technological upgrading and renovation of the headquarters in Palermo was successful, editorial and managerial problems led to a lack of adequate leadership.

Although the paper enjoyed a revival of sales in 1992, this did not prevent the PDS (Partito Democratico della Sinistra - Democratic Party of the Left), the successor of the PCI, to liquidate L'Ora.