The Rise and Fall of Fascism in Italy, 1911-1946
The Liberal State, 1911-1918
Italy in 1896:
-March 1896, Italy was bloodily defeated in Abyssinia
-Was a cultural giant and yet a pynomy (small) in world politics
-Became a nation in 1861 fully unified in 1870
-Largely agricultural and had not developed in industries that enriched its Northern Brothers
-Thousands each year had left to settle in Argentina, or French North Africa
-The royal family, the House of Savoy preferred speaking French over Italian
The political system:
Government known as the Liberal State
-1886, Pope Leo XIII formally forbade Catholics from voting, no opposition to Liberals
-Less than 25% of Italian men had the vote
-29 changes of Prime Minister 1870-1922
-Inability of most Italian to voice discontent of government from voting meant growing
strength of extreme ideologies, eg. anarchism
-’The Roman Question’- Term used to describe the split between the Italian state and the
Catholic Church, which refused to recognise the legitimacy of the unified nation.
-The House of Savoy were kings, and it was a monarchy not a republic as envisaged
-King selected Prime Minister, ministers had to be acceptable
-Prefect in charge of 69 provinces. Main job to secure ‘right’ candidate
Economic growth and Social problems:
-1899-1914, Italy experienced considerable economic expansion and industrialization
focused on the North, chemical, electrical, iron steel industries grew
-Car industry grew, Fiat Alfa Romeo and Lancia established
-New agricultural techniques, industrialization
-Living standards of industrial and rural workers low
-1901-11 over 1,500 strikes involving workers
Problems:
-Poor diet (polenta) caused vitamin deficiencies and the disease pellagra caused insanity and
death.
-Tomatoes, cheese and ham were luxuries
-Water was infected, cholera killed thousands
-Poor houses
-Corpses thrown off cliffs
The North-South divide
-Intellectuals and politicians grappled with the questione meridionale (‘southern question’),
focusing their work on an attempt to understand why the south had fallen into poverty and
an attempt to alleviate it.
-No Italian Prime Minister visited the south until 32 years after unification
-Best Italian was spoken in Florence and Tuscany, intelligible to peasants of Basilicata
-Over 80% in South were illiterate, only literate could vote
