Fascist Italy

Fascist Italy with Ancient Roman Culture

Fascist Italy under Mussolini used Roman symbols to gain legitimacy, power, and recognition, as pathetic as it may seem today. Fascist Italy under Mussolini used the fasces, an ancient Roman symbol, as its fascist symbol. Ancient Rome had its issues, but it was almost two thousand years ago, and the context of its time needs to be included. Also, ancient Rome may have been “violent,” they may have had “war slaves,” they may have “killed” lots of people, but they weren’t Fascists in the true meaning of the word. The creation of fascism in Italy defaced ancient Roman heritage and culture. One of the reasons for the picking of ancient Rome for the Fascist culture was its heavy ware culture and its heavy connection to a critical part of golden European history. Ancient Rome was blended into Fascist Italy’s takeover in 1922.[1] The fascist regime in Italy tried to “Romanize all parties of civilian life,” which created major issues. Italy, using ancient Rome’s symbols and power, may seem to be pathetic… but it gave it power and legitimacy instead.  According to Woodrow Wilson, ancient Rome was a source of power, history, and knowledge. Ancient Rome’s symbols gave fascist Italy legitimacy, power, and recognition.  In Rome, the symbols were already abundant and present; Rome’s citizens could see the statues every day and be reminded of the stunning and powerful past that gave Fascist Italy legitimacy. Ancient Rome was one of the high points of Italian civilization, which is why Mussolini picked ancient Rome’s symbols to represent Fascist Italy.

Bibliography

Duggan, Christopher. 2013. Fascist Voices : An Intimate History of Mussolini’s Italy. 1st ed. Oxford University Press.

Fadda, Salvatore. “The Refiguring of Ancient Rome in Fascist Italy’s National Imagination.” Nations and Nationalism 27, no. 3 (2021): 721–733. https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.12651

Follo, Valentina. 2013. “The Power of Images in the Age of Mussolini.” ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.

[1] Salvatore Fadda, “The Refiguring of Ancient Rome in Fascist Italy’s National Imagination,” Nations and Nationalism 27, no. 3 (2021): 721–33, https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.12651 Pg. 730