Abstract

Mussolini Pro and Con

The article focuses on the book, "The Awakening of Italy: The Fascista Regeneration," by Luigi Villari. It is in its silences and apologies that the book is least satisfying. The quixotic "march on Rome," saved from incalculable consequences by the King's wise intervention, is treated too casually. As for the Fascist militia, formed to protect the revolutionary government, Villari offers this judgment of cerulean innocence: "In order to replace the disbanded Guardia Regia without great expenditures and avoiding the employment of troops for the maintenance of order, Benito Mussolini conceived the idea of creating a force of volunteer militia composed of Fascisti to assist the police when necessary"--a sentence that would find its proper setting in Punch.