HAOL, Núm. 17 (Otoño, 2008), 139-146
ISSN 1696-2060
CATHOLICISM AND THE ITALIAN FASCIST MYTH OF
ROMANITÀ: BETWEEN CONSCIOUSNESS AND
CONSENT
Jan Nelis
Universiteit Gent, Belgium. E-mail: jan.nelis@ugent.be
Recibido: 2 Julio 2008 / Revisado: 31 Julio 2008 / Aceptado: 4 Septiembre 2008 / Publicación Online: 15 Octubre 2008
Abstract: Drawing on current scholarly
research on “political religions,” as well as on
the “politicisation” of religion, this article
presents a study of the Jesuitical periodical La
Civiltà Cattolica, of which it analyses the years
1922-1943. The specific focus is on the Catholic
discourse on Roman antiquity: as the fascist
regime made ample use of a supposed
“spiritual” heritage from antiquity –an idea
which was summarised in the notion of
romanità (“Romanness”)-, the Catholic press
reacted by defining its position in this debate,
especially with regard to the relationship
between pagan and Christian, fascist and
Catholic Rome. This study joins the already
extensive body of research concerning the
fascist myth of romanità.
Keywords: Catholicism, Jesuits, Italian fascism,
romanità, political religion, religious politics,
discourse analysis, propaganda.
______________________
S
ince the milestone work of Emilio
Gentile1, Italian fascism has repeatedly
been analysed as a form of “political
religion,” an approach which takes into account
factors which traditionally are not included, or
are considered as only minor features. First of
all, there is the role of culture, which is seen as
not only “determined by” politics, but also as
actively determining the latter activity,
sometimes even as a form of politics in its own
right. In this sense, literature, the visual arts
etcetera can be studied as active participants in
the creation of fascist reality2. The same can also
be said for the masses3. Another central feature
is the religious, mythical predisposition of early
fascist leaders and of their supporters4. As a
consequence, fascism’s religious core was made
up of various myths, “stories” –in the
etymological sense of the Greek muthos- which
© Historia Actual Online 2008
informed about fascism’s origins and nature.
Apart from the myth of the nation, the myth of
the Great War (which was seen as a purifying
experience), and the myth of the uomo and Stato
nuovo, one idea in particular stood out as central
to the creation of the new, Italian fascist
identity: a spiritual heritage from Roman
antiquity,
better
known
as
romanità
(“Romanness”).
When one observes Mussolini’s discourse on
antiquity5, it seems so that already quite early
on, he realised the effectiveness of an
identification with the greatness of Roman
antiquity. Even if initially opposed to all that
invoked the city of Rome, its inhabitants and its
history6, he quite suddenly changed his mind,
baptising his 1922 takeover of power the
“March on Rome,” in a clear reference to Julius
Caesar’s example. From now on, the myth of
romanità would penetrate the most diverse
levels of the cultural spectrum, such as
architecture, sculpture, painting and, last but not
least, scholarship of antiquity.
Whereas many of the above aspects have been
the object of extensive research7, the
relationship between romanità and traditional
Catholic religion has only led to a very limited
amount of publications8. These mainly focus on
the way in which antichisti (classicists,
historians of antiquity and archaeologists) and
literary authors inserted references to
Catholicism and Catholic antiquity in their
discourse on pagan antiquity, in order to
promote the idea of pagan Rome as a
praeparatio of Christianity, and of Christian
Rome in its turn as a forerunner to the ultimate,
fascist and Catholic, “Third Rome.”
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Catholicism and The Italian Fascist Myth
As this aspect has been exclusively studied from
the viewpoint of non-clerical agents, the present
paper intends to widen the scope, by considering
the way in which an important Catholic
periodical, the Jesuitical La Civiltà Cattolica,
handled issues related to (pagan and Christian)
antiquity during the heyday of romanità, the
ventennio fascista (the twenty years during
which fascism was in power, from 1922 until
1943). In so doing, it contributes not only to the
mentioned study of fascism as a political
religion, but also to the degree of ‘politicisation’
of traditional religious discourse9.
1. LA CIVILTÀ CATTOLICA AND
ANTIQUITY DURING THE FIRST HALF
OF THE VENTENNIO FASCISTA
After the October 28, 1922 fascist March on
Rome, La Civiltà Cattolica’s discourse on
antiquity does not undergo any substantial
changes: in the same way as fascism itself is
apparently only considered to be a phenomenon
of minor, temporary importance10, the new
regime’s interest in ancient Rome does not seem
to be of major concern. Indeed during the
twenties the myth of romanità does not yet
possess the rhetorical strength and omnipresence
which will characterise it during the thirties. As
a consequence, the Catholic discourse on
antiquity can remain relatively unaltered, in
some cases even questioning, or contradicting,
the increasing fascist appropriation of the
ancient past.
Generally speaking, contributions dealing with
antiquity (articles and above all book reviews)
are characterised by two major tendencies:
predominance of themes related to Christianity
(and linked to this omission of paganism) and
opposition to the idea of pagan Rome as a
praeparatio of Christian and fascist Rome. In
other words, no clear echo is produced of the
sort of romanità which is at that time being
developed by numerous antichisti (cf. supra).
Being a confessional publication, La Civiltà
Cattolica has only one interest when treating
with historical subjects, one agenda: stressing
the importance of Catholic faith. As a
consequence, in a 1923 review of a book on the
Roman Empire by Gaetano De Sanctis, who
arguably was one of Italy’s most prominent
antichisti, criticism can be based on the
judgement of none other than Dante Alighieri,
author of the religiously initiatic poem Divina
Commedia11. The periodical keeps a constant,
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Jan Nelis
vigilant, focus on religious themes and aspects,
as can be seen, among other things, in a 1924
review article of a dictionary of Christian
archaeology and liturgy: whereas the overall
tone of the review is positive, the author’s
depiction of early Christians as “insultors of
Rome” is being condemned12.
Only very hesitatingly, pagan antiquity is being
given its “due:” apart from a continuous series
of reviews of books concerning Latin poet
Vergil (cf. infra), only in 1925 a book on the
Roman Forum and Palatine Hill is being
considered important “per la Roma classica e
per la cristiana insieme”13, whereas in the same
year imperial Rome can be presented as the “più
grande potenza civile del mondo antico”14.
However, the reviewer quickly adds that the
mentioned greatness only counts “fino
all’avvento del cristianesimo”15.
In some contributions, pagan antiquity is not
only being ignored, but even criticised, or in any
case strongly dissociated from its Christian
follow-up. Most of these texts are published
near the end of the twenties, when, after
Mussolini has become a dictator, romanità
increasingly starts to invade fascist propaganda.
Whereas for example in 1926 Vergil can still be
presented as the ancient poet who incarnates
“un’età che ingenerò i germi della civiltà del
mondo, ed ebbe preparato e spianato il campo
della pugna e della vittoria ai banditori del
Vangelo di Cristo”16, in subsequent reviews no
more references to the poet’s apparent
religiosity can be found17. Furthermore, the
notion of romanità, by now indissolubly linked
to fascism, is only mentioned once, and in a very
prudent manner18.
La Civiltà Cattolica’s preoccupation to distance
itself from fascist reception of antiquity reaches
a high point at the beginning of the thirties,
when two articles are published in which,
through the figure of Vergil, the idea of pagan
romanità as a precursor to Christian Rome is
rejected19. This is done by literally stating,
among other things, that “Virgilio […] non
scorse il Messia, non divinò il Salvatore
Nazzareno”20. As it has become the privileged
domain of fascist propaganda, pagan Rome and
its “greatness” are now increasingly ignored by
La Civiltà Cattolica or, when mentioned,
criticised and deprived of their originality.
Such can for example be seen in a review article
of Luigia Achillea Stella’s Italia antica sul
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Jan Nelis
Catholicism and The Italian Fascist Myth
mare21: not only does the reviewer refrain from
making the obvious reference to Mussolini’s
1926 speech entitled Roma antica sul mare22,
but he also underlines the un-original character
of parts of ancient Roman culture, even if it has
to be pointed out that they are eventually being
presented as the product of Rome’s “mirabile
potenza assimilatrice e assorbitrice…”23
The last time an identification between pagan
and Roman antiquity is clearly avoided, is in a
1932 book review in which the reviewer asserts
that the author “è riuscito a comporre una sintesi
chiara delle due civiltà […] della Roma antica e
[…] della Roma cristiana, e la nostra lode
sarebbe incondizionata se di quando in quando
non v’affiorasse un certo spirito razionalistico
[…] Tale giudizio viene imposto da certe frasi
ambigue, dalle quali si potrebbe inferire che in
modo latente operi, nella esposizione del
Cristianesimo, l’idea di uno svolgimento
naturale, sia della dottrina con il progressivo
assorbimento del romanesimo24 […], sia nella
fondazione e compaginazione della Chiesa…”25
As we will see in the following paragraphs, from
now on La Civiltà Cattolica’s tone will shift
quite radically –apart from a continuous, albeit
less vehement, stress on Vergil’s, and in general
Roman
antiquity’s,
pagan
character-,
increasingly resembling the ever more present
non-clerical, fascist discourse on romanità.
2.
THE
ROMANITÀ
THIRTIES:
CHRISTIAN
Only after Church and State has reached a
political (the Lateran Pact) as well as a civic (the
Concordato) entente in 1929, and after a
subsequent conflict with the fascist government
on the role of the Azione Cattolica has been
resolved, some aspects of fascist romanità are
able to infiltrate the Catholic discourse on
antiquity. Mainly there are two tendencies: a
recognition of the value of the Roman past to its
Christian follow-up -sometimes translating itself
into the idea of antiquity as a praeparatio of
Christianity-, and an increasing presence of
contributions dealing with aspects of fascist
romanità, whose merits are increasingly being
lauded.
The first time references to a certain degree of
familiarity between pagan and Christian Rome
can be found, is in two 1933 book reviews26.
Whereas these implicitly suggest rather than
affirm the aforementioned thesis, a subsequent
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review of a publication on Vergil goes all out in
its appreciation of how the book’s author
presents Vergil as “maestro fra i gentili,
apostolo della pace, voce dell’aspettazione
universale,” and of how he “fa vedere come
l’opera di lui sia una buona preparazione umana
per la carità divina…”27
In 1934, an even more explicit interpretation of
romanità can be found when Father Rosa writes
about the “idea della romanità, della cultura cioè
e della civiltà che Roma ha recato al mondo,
specialmente dopo il rinnovamento portatovi dal
soffio divino del cristianesimo, che fece di
Roma il vero centro della Chiesa e la capitale
del mondo: caput orbis”28. Not surprisingly,
such thoughts are expressed in a review article
of publications by the fascist and Catholic
Istituto di Studi Romani, an institution closely
linked to, among others, Jesuit Father Pietro
Tacchi Venturi –who mediated during the
negotiations leading up to the 1929 agreements,
as well as during the Azione Cattolica conflictand fascist politician Giuseppe Bottai29.
As Nazism starts its rise to power, La Civiltà
Cattolica, and the Catholic Church, feel
threatened by this new “religion of the race”30.
Consequently, a more elaborate form of
Christian romanità, or rather romanesimo, is
being developed, especially by Father Messineo,
author of some of the journal’s most politically
explicit contributions. This is for example the
case in Studi sul germanesimo, which, even if
limited to a review of some major publications
concerning the subject, offers a blueprint of later
thoughts on the value of Roman and Christian
universalism as opposed to German mysticism.
In his text Messineo points at, among other
things, the “necessità di un ritorno al
romanesimo, valore eterno e fondamento
indispensabile a ogni verace civiltà, se si vuole
salvare l’Occidente dalla crisi morale, religiosa e
civile alla quale va incontro, spinto dalle forze di
dissolvimento, che lo minacciano di rovina”31.
In this period however, the idea of a fusion
between pagan and Christian Rome will only
resurface briefly, namely in Father Rosa’s Gli
estremi opposti nella crisi della civiltà, which
opposes Nazism (and Communism) to Roman,
Christian universalism, which he sees incarnated
in the principles of Roman Law32.
For a more outspoken, albeit hesitant, “baptism”
of romanità we have to wait until the end of
1937, when an article is dedicated to the
commemoration of the death of Roman emperor
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Catholicism and The Italian Fascist Myth
Constantine. In this text Father Ferrua, in charge
of the majority of the journal’s contributions
dealing with antiquity, states that by converting
to Christianity, “Costantino si mostrò […] di
un’intuizione profonda a comprendere il vero
bene dei suoi popoli, e merita plauso e
gratitudine per averlo saputo volere con un atto
così […] ‘rivoluzionario’”33. In so doing, he
underlines the emperor’s Christian sensibility, as
well as his Romanness. Moreover, through the
depiction of his role as “revolutionary,” he links
him to Mussolini’s fascist revolution, as well as
to the duce’s seemingly benevolent attitude
towards Catholicism, as evidenced by the
signing of the 1929 agreements.
Not unexpectedly, it is also Ferrua who will
comment upon the 1937-1938 archaeological
exposition Mostra augustea della romanità (cf.
infra). A foretaste of his coverage of the event:
“Vi è un caso tipo che dimostra, e non si
potrebbe più eloquentemente, la forza grande di
attrazione della Romanità. È il Cristianesimo.
[…] In realtà esso è Augusteo, almeno nel senso
che Cristo volle nascere sotto Augusto e nel suo
impero”34.
Hereupon an anonymous article published in
1938 repeats the impossibility of an ideological
“marriage” between Nazi Germany and fascist
Italy35. Indeed, for La Civiltà Cattolica, both
nations represent highly irreconcilable world
views, namely that of the “civiltà romana e
cattolica, latina e universale,” as opposed to the
“nebuloso mito razzista, negatore dei supremi
valori spirituali”36.
Near the end of the thirties, fascism, and with it
romanità, starts to lose its appeal. Whereas in
his grandiloquent style Father Ferrua keeps on
repeating the idea of a fusion between pagan,
Christian and fascist Rome37, Father Brucculeri
can now again deny any spiritual affinity
between Catholic and pagan antiquity,
considering the latter “ripugnante”38. Even if
limited to a treatment of ancient totalitarianism,
such statements already announce the journal’s
changing stance during the fourties.
3. THE THIRTIES: FASCIST ROMANITÀ
La Civiltà Cattolica does not only develop the
idea of a religiously inspired heritage from
Roman antiquity, but it also increasingly hints at
the value of non-Christian romanità, parallel to
the
romanità
discourse
of
antichisti,
propagandists etcetera. Indeed with tensions
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Jan Nelis
between the Vatican and the regime having
largely been resolved, by the beginning of 1933
the periodical is increasingly positive in its
appreciation of Mussolini’s political use of
ancient Rome.
The first time this tendency manifests itself
clearly, is in a review of a book suggesting the
possibility of a “Mediterranean union.” Quite
significantly, the reviewer does not make any
reference to religion, but focuses on the
importance of ancient Rome as a factor of
cohesion,
since
“Roma
lasciò
orme
incancellabili e germi fecondi di una coscienza
unitaria in tutti i popoli, in cui portò le sue
aquile vittoriose”39. This effort is followed by a
review of a book on religion and fatherland, in
which the author refers not to Christianity, but to
the “pietas in Deum et in patriam degli antichi
Romani, dei quali egli [the author] giustamente
si compiace che tante glorie siano state
rinnovellate in questo decennio di nuovo
regime”40. Consequently, the main quality of a
book on Roman historian Livy is the “idea […]
di svelare il sentimento di romanità che […]
informa l’opera di Tito Livio”41, whereas the
highly controversial Via dell’Impero is referred
to as “nuova e grandiosa”42.
In 1936, when fascist Italy has become an
“empire,” explicit references to the virtuousness
of ancient Rome’s imperial expansion can be
made43. This is given an additional boost by the
prospect of 1937-1938, the year of the
bimillenary celebration of emperor Augustus:
through the organisation of a vast exposition
(the mentioned Mostra augustea della
romanità44), as well as through conferences,
radio programmes and even stamps, the latter
was lavishly commemorated as the emperor of
peace, empire, law and order. The regime made
ample use of Augustus to increase its popularity,
even going so far as to distribute free train
tickets to allow people from all over the country
to visit the exposition.
La Civiltà Cattolica adds its touch to the
omnipresent propaganda of the events
surrounding Augustus through the publication of
the mentioned article by Father Ferrua45. In a
contribution unlike any other we’ve encountered
so far, the latter does not refrain from exalting
the fascist regime’s interest in antiquity,
comparing Augustus, “duce del suo popolo”46,
to Mussolini. In so doing, he produces clear
echoes of the sort of propaganda that can by
now be found not only in popular press, but
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Jan Nelis
Catholicism and The Italian Fascist Myth
even in scientific, or pseudo-scientific, studies:
“… dappertutto vuole avere senso la parola
d’ordine del Duce, scolpita sull’architrave
dell’ingresso: italiani, fate che le glorie del
passato siano superate da quelle dell’avvenire, e
quell’altra in fronte alla sala dell’Impero: ‘Io
non vivo del passato; per me il passato non è che
una pedana, dalla quale si prende lo slancio
verso il più superbo avvenire’. Questo per verità
è spirito nuovo”47.
Ferrua will continue to make similar efforts, for
example in a 1938 contribution on the so-called
Ara Pacis Augustae, the “altar of peace”
Augustus erected in 9 BC48. However, as we’ve
stated before, near the end of the thirties the
fascist regime starts to lose ground, especially as
un-popular racial laws are being declared, and as
Italy’s fate becomes all the more dependent on
Nazi Germany’s. In this context, critical
opinions can again be voiced49, even if in a very
prudent manner. As we will illustrate in the
following, during the fourties, after its
temporary flirt with fascist propaganda, La
Civiltà Cattolica will return to its traditional line
of action.
4. THE FOURTIES:
NORMALITY
RETURN
TO
At the beginning of the fourties, the illustrated
process of forced cohabitation between pagan
and Christian Roman antiquity can be inversed,
as evidenced by the publication of an article
entitled Virtù pagana e virtù cristiana50.
Another way in which La Civiltà Cattolica deals
with the heritage of fascism’s exclusivism in
matters concerning Roman antiquity, is by
appropriating the concept of romanità to
Church-related subjects with no direct
relationship to the fascist regime. This is for
example the case in two articles entitled Alle
fonti della ‘Romanità’ della Compagnia di Gesù
(1534-1541)51, and in two subsequent pieces on
pope Leo the Great’s romanità52. The first of
these implicitly criticises the relativity of fascist,
and of any non-religious, use of antiquity: “Il
fascino della Roma fondata da Romolo poteva
essere ed era realmente per i Romani antichi
molto attraente. Ma per noi uomini del secolo
XX non è che un mito […] Ora il fondamento
vero della perennità di Roma non è la leggenda,
ma la storia. E questa storia ci riconduce non a
Romolo, ma a Pietro, e attraverso Pietro a
Cristo, del quale egli è umile vicario. Soltanto
Cristo, che è la verità e la fermezza in persona,
può essere la garanzia della stabilità di Roma
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eterna, non le opinioni umane che cangiano, o le
deboli forze umane che vacillano”53.
As global war becomes inevitable, popular
support for the fascist regime quite rapidly goes
downhill. The resulting spiritual, existential void
is claimed by its traditional occupant: Catholic
religion. With the Vatican increasingly
distancing itself from fascism, La Civiltà
Cattolica’s focus now shifts towards a discourse
on the Church’s value as a universal institution,
apart from an increase of the discourse on
“Italianness” or italianità. As a consequence of
this process, references to fascism becomes ever
more rare. Instead the periodical conveys a
concept of national identity54 in which there is
not much room for the myth of romanità.
As romanità had been too intricately linked with
the use Mussolini had made of it, in postwar
Italy its sphere of action has been mainly
restricted to history books and articles such as
the present paper. However, now and then it has
resurfaced, up until the present day: when
Gianni Alemanno ran for mayor of Rome in
Spring 2008, he did not refrain from repeatedly
referring to ancient Roman greatness. After his
election, some of his supporters could even be
seen bringing the fascist “Roman” salute in front
of Rome’s city hall: a reminder of the dangers of
the use of myth and identitarian discourses in
politics.
NOTES
1
Gentile, Emilio, “Fascism as Political Religion”.
Journal of Contemporary History, XXV/2-3 (1990),
229-251, and Il culto del littorio. Rome and Bari,
Laterza, 1993.
2
Typical examples of this tendency are Fogu,
Claudio, The Historic Imaginary. Politics of History
in Fascist Italy. Toronto, Buffalo and London,
University of Toronto Press, 2003, and Lazzaro,
Claudia and Crum, Roger J. (eds.), Donatello among
the Blackshirts. History and Modernity in the Visual
Culture of Fascist Italy. Ithaca and London, Cornell
University Press, 2005.
3
In this context, see Falasca-Zamponi, Simonetta,
“The Aesthetics of Politics: Symbol, Power and
Narrative in Mussolini’s Fascist Italy”. Theory,
Culture & Society, IX-4 (1992), 75-91, and Fascist
Spectacle. The Aesthetics of Power in Mussolini’s
Italy. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London, University
of California Press, 1997, as well as Gentile, Emilio,
“The Theatre of Politics in Fascist Italy”, in
Berghaus, Günter (ed.), Fascism and Theatre.
Comparative Studies on the Aesthetics and Politics of
Performance in Europe, 1925-1945. Providence and
Oxford, Berghahn Books, 1996, 72-93, and Maier,
143
Catholicism and The Italian Fascist Myth
Hans, “Political Religions and Their Images: Soviet
communism, Italian Fascism and German National
Socialism”. Totalitarian Movements and Political
Religions, VII-3 (2006), 274-278.
4
See Adamson, Walter L., “Fascism and Culture:
Avant-Gardes and Secular Religion in the Italian
Case”. Journal of Contemporary History, XXIV-3
(1989), 411-435, “Modernism and Fascism: The
Politics of Culture in Italy, 1903-1922”. The
American Historical Review, XCV-2 (1990), 359390, “The Language of Opposition in Early
Twentieth-Century Italy: Rhetorical Continuities
between Prewar Florentine Avant-gardism and
Mussolini’s Fascism”. Journal of Modern History,
LXIV-1 (1992), 22-51, and Avant-Garde Florence.
From Modernism to Fascism. Cambridge (Mass.)
and London, Harvard University Press, 1993,
Gentile, Emilio, Mussolini e “La Voce”. Florence,
Sansoni, 1976, and The Struggle for Modernity.
Nationalism, Futurism, and Fascism. Westport,
Praeger, 2003, and Mosse, George L., “The Political
Culture of Italian Futurism: A General Perspective”.
Journal of Contemporary History, XXV/2-3 (1990),
253-268. See also Griffin, Roger, Modernism and
Fascism. The Sense of a Beginning under Mussolini
and Hitler. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire and
New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
5
For an analysis of Mussolini’s discourse on
romanità, see Nelis, Jan, “Constructing fascist
identity: Benito Mussolini and the myth of
romanità”. Classical World, C-4 (2007), 391-415.
6
On this aspect, see Gentile, Emilio, Fascismo di
pietra. Rome and Bari, Laterza, 2007, 23-32.
7
On romanità in general, see, among others, Visser,
Romke, “Fascist Doctrine and the Cult of the
Romanità”. Journal of Contemporary History,
XXVII-1 (1992), 5-22, and Nelis, Jan, “La romanité
(romanità) fasciste. Bilan des recherches et
propositions pour le futur”. Latomus. Revue d’Etudes
Latines, LXVI-4 (2007), 987-1006. On romanità in
architecture and sculpture, see Gentile, Emilio,
Fascismo di pietra..., op. cit. On romanità in
painting, see Malvano Bechelloni, Laura, “Le mythe
de la romanité et la politique de l’image dans l’Italie
fasciste”. Vingtième Siècle. Revue d’histoire, 78
(2003), 111-120. The most studied aspect however is
scholarship on antiquity under fascism. For an
overview, see Nelis, Jan, “La romanité (romanità)
fasciste”…, op. cit., 993-997.
8
See Braccesi, Lorenzo, “Costantino e i Patti
Lateranensi”. Studi Storici. Rivista Trimestrale
dell’Istituto Gramsci, XXXII-1 (1991), 161-167, and
Nelis, Jan, “Un mythe contemporain entre religion et
idéologie: la romanité fasciste”. Euphrosyne. Revista
de Filologia Clássica, 35 (2007), 437-450.
9
On this aspect, see Moro, Renato, “Religion and
Politics in the Time of Secularisation: The
Sacralisation of Politics and Politicisation of
Religion”. Totalitarian Movements and Political
Religions, VI-1 (2005), 71-86, and “Religione del
trascendente e religioni politiche. Il cattolicesimo
144
Jan Nelis
italiano di fronte alla sacralizzazione fascista della
politica”. Mondo contemporaneo. Rivista di storia, 1
(2005), 9-67.
10
Indeed during the first years of fascist rule only a
very limited amount of contributions was being
dedicated to the subject. See, for example,
Anonymous, “La rivoluzione fascista”. La Civiltà
Cattolica, IV (1922), 502-512, and Anonymous,
“Fascismo e sindacalismo”. La Civiltà Cattolica, I
(1923), 412-423.
11
Cf. Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Gaetano De
Sanctis, Storia dei Romani, Vol. IV. La fondazione
dell’impero’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, II (1923), 252253: “Questo giudizio del De Sanctis non s’accordi
con quello dell’Alighieri, il quale, accennando alle
vittorie dell’Africano [Scipio Africanus], canta che
‘l’alta provvidenza con Scipio difese a Roma la
gloria del mondo’ (Pur. XXVII, 61)…”
12
Anonymous, “Il Dizionario di Archeologia
Cristiana e di Liturgia”. La Civiltà Cattolica, I
(1924), 450.
13
Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Horace Marucchi, Le
Forum Romain et le Palatin d’après les nouvelles
découvertes’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, III (1925), 69.
14
Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Giuseppe Gatteschi,
Restauri della Roma imperiale’”. La Civiltà
Cattolica, III (1925), 70.
15
Ibid.
16
Anonymous, “Virgilio nelle versioni italiane più
moderne (Albini, Vivona)”. La Civiltà Cattolica, II
(1926), 213.
17
See, among others, Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘P.
Ovidio Nasone, Le Metamorfosi. Luoghi scelti, con
introduzione e commento di G. Curotto. Ediz. II
riveduta’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, IV (1926), 456,
Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘E. Ceria, La prima
lettura di Virgilio. Nuovo saggio di crestomazia
virgiliana’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, II (1928), 270-271,
Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘P. Virgilio Marone,
L’Eneide nella versione di Luciano Vischi e Michele
Leoni, con note di Rodolfo Fantini’”. La Civiltà
Cattolica, II (1928), 550-551, Anonymous,
“Recensione a ‘Andrea Milazzo, L’Eneide. Lib. II
versione e note’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, IV (1928),
346-347, Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Giovanni
Giura, Virgiliana’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, I (1929),
64-65, Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Gaetano Di
Biasio, Libro IV dell’Eneide. Versione in esametri’”.
La Civiltà Cattolica, I (1929), 266-267, Anonymous,
“A proposito del Bettinelli e delle sue ‘Lettere
Virgiliane’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, II (1929), 145-150,
Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘P. Vergilio Marone,
Eneide. L. I-VI. Versione esametrica di Gaetano Di
Biasio’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, III (1929), 56-57,
Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Marino Ceccon, Eneide
di Virgilio. Saggio di versione in Verso originale’”.
La Civiltà Cattolica, III (1929), 57-58, Anonymous,
“Recensione a ‘Virgilio, Eneide (Il racconto di
Enea)’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, III (1929), 58,
Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Paolo Fabbri, Virgilio
poeta sociale e politico’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, III
(1929), 544, Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Virgilio, Il
© Historia Actual Online 2008
Jan Nelis
secondo libro dell’Eneide con note esegetiche ed
estetiche di Francesco Vivona’”. La Civiltà
Cattolica, I (1930), 262-263, and Anonymous,
“Recensione a ‘G. Loreta, La zoologia in Virgilio’”.
La Civiltà Cattolica, III (1930), 165-166. The only
exception to this is Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Gino
Funaioli, Esegesi Virgiliana antica’”. La Civiltà
Cattolica, IV (1930), 353-354, which however does
not speak out clearly concerning this aspect.
18
Cf. Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Paolo Fabbri,
Virgilio poeta sociale e politico’”..., op. cit., 544:
“Gli ultimi due capitoli li consacra all’opera
maggiore di Virgilio, l’Eneide e presentatala nella
sua vera luce di ‘epopea della romanità’…”
19
See Anonymous, “Il Messianismo ebraico e la IV
Ecloga di Virgilio”. La Civiltà Cattolica, II (1931),
3-20, and Anonymous, “Il Messianismo ebraico e la
IV Ecloga di Virgilio”. La Civiltà Cattolica, II
(1931), 97-106.
20
Anonymous, “Il Messianismo ebraico e la IV
Ecloga di Virgilio”..., op. cit., 106.
21
Anonymous, “Italia antica sul mare”. La Civiltà
Cattolica, III (1931), 142-150.
22
This speech, presented at Perugia’s Università per
Stranieri on October 5, 1926, was arguably one of
the most important blueprints of romanità
propaganda. It has been re-published in Susmel,
Edoardo and Duilio (eds.), Opera Omnia di Benito
Mussolini. Vol. 22. Florence, La Fenice, 1957, 213227. For more information on the nature of this text,
partly written by antichista Ettore Pais, see Visser,
Romke, “The Correspondence of Ettore Pais in the
‘Segreteria particolare del Duce, Carteggio ordinario’
(ACS, Roma)”, in Polverini, Leandro (ed.), Aspetti
della storiografia di Ettore Pais. Naples, Edizioni
Scientifiche Italiane, 2002, 159-170.
23
Anonymous, “Italia antica sul mare”..., op. cit.,
150.
24
Note that the author uses the neutral romanesimo
instead of the more ideologically tainted romanità.
25
Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Giovanni Vidari, Le
civiltà d’Italia nel loro sviluppo storico. I. Le civiltà
organizzatrici’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, III (1932),
598-599.
26
Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Guido Anichini,
Roma, patria nostra. Itinerario religioso, storico,
artistico’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, I (1933), 177-178,
and Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Gaetano Pignataro,
Religione e Patria. Studi recenti’”. La Civiltà
Cattolica, II (1933), 381.
27
Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Aurelio Espinosa
Polit, S. J., Virgilio. El poeta y su Misión
Providencial’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, IV (1933), 522.
28
Rosa, E., “Pubblicazioni dell’‘Istituto di Studi
Romani’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, III (1934), 157.
29
On the Istituto di Studi Romani, see La Penna,
Antonio, “La rivista Roma e l’Istituto di Studi
Romani. Sul culto della romanità nel periodo
fascista”, in Näf, Beat (ed.), Antike und
Altertumswissenschaft in der Zeit von Faschismus
und Nationalsozialismus. Mandelbachtal and
Cambridge, edition cicero, 2001, 89-110, and Visser,
© Historia Actual Online 2008
Catholicism and The Italian Fascist Myth
Romke, “Da Atene a Roma, da Roma a Berlino.
L’Istituto di Studi Romani, il culto fascista della
romanità e la ‘difesa dell’umanesimo’ di Giuseppe
Bottai (1936-1943)”, in Näf, Beat (ed.), Antike und
Altertumswissenschaft. op. cit., 111-123. A
preliminary study of this institute’s archives, which
we undertook in Spring 2008, showed the close ties
between its president, Carlo Galassi Paluzzi, and
various religious officials, among which also Father
Barbera, a contributor to La Civiltà Cattolica. As a
letter by Galassi Paluzzi to Barbera illustrates, these
contacts were more than mere formalities; indeed
they reflect the religious inclination of the Istituto’s
president, as well as his interpretation of romanità:
“… mi rivolgo ancora una volta a V.R. domandando
di pregare e di far pregare in modo speciale per la
nostra Istituzione e per chi, come il sottoscritto, ha il
compito non facile di dirigerla. Di tale collaborazione
soprannaturale l’Istituto ha bisogno, non solo per
quelle sue iniziative che tendono a mettere nella
dovuta luce scientifica tante glorie e tante
benemerenze della Roma Cristiana; ma ne ha bisogno
anche perché abbiano esito felice e completo –sotto
ogni aspetto- tutte le altre iniziative, con le quali si
vuole raggiungere una visione unitaria organica –e
quindi vera- della Romanità e della missione
gloriosamente terrena e imperituramente celeste che
la Provvidenza ha voluto affidare a Roma in ogni
secolo dall’antichità ai giorni nostri; e infine perché
queste ricerche scientifiche e queste iniziative
culturali giovino a far tornare nelle menti e nei cuori
la luce delle verità naturali e soprannaturali delle
quali Roma è stata e sarà depositaria e maestra.”
(letter to Father Barbera written on December 10,
1936, to be found in Rome, Istituto Nazionale di
Studi Romani, archivio storico: Affari Generali,
busta 220, fascicolo 2)
30
See, for example, Barbera, M., “Mito razzista
anticristiano”. La Civiltà Cattolica, I (1934), 238249, López, U., “Difesa della razza ed etica
cristiana”. La Civiltà Cattolica, I (1934), 574-587,
and “Difesa della razza ed etica cristiana”. La Civiltà
Cattolica, II (1934), 27-42, and Messineo, A., “La
nuova religione della razza”. La Civiltà Cattolica, III
(1934), 225-239.
31
Messineo, A., “Studi sul germanesimo”. La Civiltà
Cattolica, IV (1934), 181.
32
Rosa, E., “Gli estremi opposti nella crisi della
civiltà”. La Civiltà Cattolica, II (1936), 97.
33
Ferrua, A., “Per il centenario della morte di
Costantino”. La Civiltà Cattolica, IV (1937), 387.
34
Ferrua, A., “La mostra Augustea della Romanità”.
La Civiltà Cattolica, IV (1937), 484.
35
Anonymous,
“Germanesimo
razzista
e
Romanesimo Cattolico”. La Civiltà Cattolica, II
(1938), 289-292.
36
Ibid., 289.
37
See Ferrua, A., “Conferenze Augustee”. La Civiltà
Cattolica, I (1940), 221-225, and “La difesa della
Romanità”. La Civiltà Cattolica, III (1940), 321-330:
328. See also Barbera, M., “Romanità genuina
145
Catholicism and The Italian Fascist Myth
nell’‘Istituto di Studi Romani’”. La Civiltà Cattolica,
II (1938), 293-303.
38
Brucculeri, A., “Il concetto cristiano dello Stato”.
La Civiltà Cattolica, III (1938), 24.
39
Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Massimo Salvadori,
L’Unità mediterranea’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, I
(1933), 276-277: 276.
40
Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Gaetano Pignataro,
Religione e Patria. Studi recenti’”. op. cit.
41
Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Tito Livio, Ab Urbe
condita. Libro XXII. A cura di A. Cavasin’”. La
Civiltà Cattolica, I (1934), 192.
42
Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Horace Marucchi, Le
Forum Romain et le Palatin d’après les dernières
découvertes.
Troisième
édit.
Revue,
avec
Introduction sur les Forums et la Voie de l’Empire
par O. Montenovesi’ e a ‘Ottorino Montenovesi, I
Fori e la Via dell’Impero’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, I
(1934), 410. For the creation of the Via dell’Impero
(nowadays the Via dei Fori Imperiali), parts of the
Roman imperial forums were excavated, to be
covered again in great haste in order to speed up the
construction
process,
destroying
valuable
archaeological evidence. For more information, see,
among others, Barroero, Liliana, Conti, Alessandro,
Racheli, Alberto M. and Serio Mario, Via dei Fori
Imperiali; la zona archeologica di Roma: urbanistica
beni artistici e politica culturale. Venezia, Marsilio,
1983, and Rizzo, Silvana, “La Via dei Fori Imperiali
tra il 1870 e il 1945”, in Comune di Roma.
Assessorato alla cultura (ed.), La capitale a Roma.
Città e arredo urbano 1870-1945. Roma, Carte
Segrete, 1991, 150-151.
43
This was for example the case in a review of a
book edited by the mentioned Istituto di Studi
Romani: Anonymous, “Recensione a ‘Istituto di
Studi Romani, Africa Romana. 58 tavole fuori
testo’”. La Civiltà Cattolica, II (1936), 503-504.
44
On this exposition, which presented romanità as a
continuous vital force since the foundation of the city
of Rome until its Third, Mussolinian emulation, see
Scriba, Friedemann, Augustus im Schwarzhemd? Die
Mostra Augustea della Romanità in Rom 1937/38.
Frankfurt am Main, Peter Lang, 1993.
45
Ferrua, A., “La mostra Augustea della Romanità”.
op. cit.
46
Ibid., 481.
47
Ibid., 487.
48
See Ferrua, A., “L’Ara della Pace di Augusto”. La
Civiltà Cattolica, IV (1938), 204-215. The regime
reconstructed the Ara Pacis at the occasion of the
bimillenary celebrations. For more information, see
Andersen, Wayne, The Ara Pacis of Augustus and
Mussolini. An Archaeological Mystery. Geneva and
Boston, Fabriart, 2003. On the present fate of the
monument, see Rey, Sarah, “Monument impérial,
monument à l’impérialisme: L’Ara Pacis Augustae
de reconstruction en reconstruction”, in Bianco,
Alberto and Foro, Philippe (eds.), Idée impériale et
impérialisme dans l’Italie fasciste. Journée d’étude
organisée par le groupe E.R.A.S.M.E. le 4 avril 2003
146
Jan Nelis
à Toulouse. Toulouse, Université de Toulouse – Le
Mirail, 2005, 115-123.
49
This is for example the case in a relatively positive
review of a book by Ettore Ciccotti (Anonymous,
“Recensione a ‘Ettore Ciccotti, Profilo di Augusto’”.
La Civiltà Cattolica, III (1938), 263): Ciccotti was
one of the rare antichisti who in 1931, when asked to
pledge an oath of allegiance to the regime, initially
protested, even if finally taking the oath all the same.
He did this in the following manner, in a letter
conserved in Rome’s Archivio Centrale dello Stato
(Direzione Generale Istruzione Superiore, Fascicoli
Personale Insegnante e Amministrativo, II
Versamento – 2° serie, busta 36): “La nuova formula
del giuramento –a prescindere dal fatto che in un
insegnamento in fondo tecnico non so come possa
trovare adatta applicazione- implica, in una dizione
indeterminata, non solo l’adesione e la doverosa
osservanza di tutte le norme che erano o sieno
divenute leggi –a cui non mi rifiuto- ma la
preconcetta, anticipata, pregiudiziale adesione a tutto
un ignoto, indefinito, illimitato complesso di
proposte ed azioni, che, come membro del Senato, io
sono chiamato, almeno ne’ termini dell’ordine
costituzionale esistente, a giudicare con la parola e
col voto; a tutti gli eventuali disegni, progetti,
iniziative ed impreveduti svolgimenti, che, come
membro del Senato, io sono legalmente e
doverosamente chiamato a criticare, a respingere, ad
emendare e possibilmente abrogare con la parola e
col voto.” (letter to the Ministry of Education,
November 25, 1931) On the oath, or giuramento, see
Boatti, Giorgio, Preferirei di no. Le storie dei dodici
professori che si opposero a Mussolini. Turin,
Einaudi, 2001. Cf. also a 1939 article on the
reconstruction of the Roman Senate by Ferrua, who
deplores the destruction of a seventh century church,
however not without first having pointed out the
merits of the fascist regime (Ferrua, A., “La Curia del
senato romano”. La Civiltà Cattolica, III (1939), 6070: 62).
50
Oddone, A., “Virtù pagana e virtù cristiana”. La
Civiltà Cattolica, II (1943), 335-342.
51
Leturia, P., “Alle fonti della ‘Romanità’ della
Compagnia di Gesù (1534-1541)”. La Civiltà
Cattolica, II (1941), 81-93, and its follow-up in La
Civiltà Cattolica, II (1941), 179-186.
52
Willwoll, G. E., “La missione di Roma negli scritti
di Leone Magno”. La Civiltà Cattolica, III (1942),
33-39, and its follow-up in La Civiltà Cattolica, III
(1942), 152-159.
53
Willwoll, G. E., “La missione di Roma negli scritti
di Leone Magno”..., op. cit., 35.
54
On this process, see our article Catholicism and the
Demise of Fascism, Racism and Colonialism, to
appear in the journal Italian Studies in Southern
Africa.
© Historia Actual Online 2008