Alessandro Pavolini (27 September 1903 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian politician, journalist, and essayist. He was notable for his involvement in the

Italian fascist Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

government, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and, as the leader and founder of the Black Brigades, also for his cruelty against the opponents of

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

Early life and career

A native of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, Pavolini was the son of , a major scholar of

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and other

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. A brilliant student, he earned a law degree at the

University of Florence The University of Florence ( Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'') (in acronym UNIFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled. History The f ...

and a

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

degree at '' La Sapienza'' in Rome, travelling to and from between the two cities. His brother was the writer Corrado Pavolini. After joining

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

's movement in Florence, he took part in several actions of the

Blackshirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security (, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts (, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-vo ...

, and led a

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

during the 1922

March on Rome The March on Rome () was an organized mass demonstration in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (, PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, Fascist Party leaders planned a march ...

– the moment when Fascism took over in Italy. Pavolini was assigned tasks in the cultural field (including youth programs launched by the fascists), while contributing to fascist publications such as ''Battaglie fasciste'', ''Rivoluzione fascista'', and ''Critica fascista''. Thanks to his acquaintance with Florentine fascist leader Luigi Ridolfi Vay da Verrazzano, he broke into active politics, becoming Ridolfi's deputy in 1927. From 1929 to 1934, he was local leader of the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party (, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian fascism and as a reorganisation of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The party ruled the Kingdom of It ...

(PNF) in Florence, as well as editor of the fascist publication ''Il Bargello'' (named after a military rank of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

), which urged all intellectuals to contribute; Pavolini aimed for an image of Fascism as cultural and aristocratic – he initiated a series of cultural events that survived both Fascism and his death, including the yearly costumed re-enactment of the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

-era sport '' Calcio Fiorentino'', the '' Maggio Musicale Fiorentino'' music festival and the

Ponte Vecchio The Ponte Vecchio (; "Old Bridge") is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno, in Florence, Italy. The only bridge in Florence spared from destruction during World War II, it is noted for the shops built along it; ...

Artisans' Exhibit. Between 1934 and 1942, he was a regular contributor to ''

Corriere della Sera (; ) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average circulation of 246,278 copies in May 2023. First published on 5 March 1876, is one of Italy's oldest newspapers and is Italy's most read newspaper. Its masthead has remain ...

'' as a "special guest".

Fascist leader

After becoming a member of the national PNF leadership in 1932, he moved on from local politics to become the president of the Fascist Confederation of Professionals and Artists, which propelled him to a leadership position in the Council of

Corporations A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

. He took part in the

Second Italo-Abyssinian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression waged by Italy against Ethiopia, which lasted from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Ita ...

as a lieutenant inspecting the squadron led by

Galeazzo Ciano Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari ( , ; 18 March 1903 – 11 January 1944), was an Italian diplomat and politician who served as Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister in the government of his father-in-law ...

(a group nicknamed '' La Disperata''), and as a correspondent for ''

''. Throughout his political career, Pavolini published cultural and literary essays, such as ''Disperata'' ("The Desperate"; 1937) and ''Scomparsa d'Angela'' ("Angela's Disappearance"; 1940). In 1939, he was appointed by Mussolini Minister of Popular Culture, and served until January 1943. Minister of Popular Culture (Minculpop in short) meant in fact Ministry of Propaganda and Pavolini had an iron grip on what the press could or could not publish. The written instructions to the press (including radio broadcasts and "

Luce Luce may refer to: People * Luce (name), as a given name and a surname * Luce (singer) Places * Luče, a town in Slovenia * Luce, Minnesota, an unincorporated community * Luce Bay, a large Bay in Wigtownshire in southern Scotland * Luce ...

" cinema newsreels) were dubbed '' veline'' (tissue paper) by the newsmen and covered an amazing variety of domains (from forbidding to publish photos of boxer Primo Carnera knocked out and lying unconscious to the obligation of publishing flattering propaganda photos of Mussolini on a brand new Fiat tractor or forbidding to publish photos of Naples under the snow, fearing it would damage the tourism industry). Minculpop also tackled the cinema industry (the famous and very creative Cinecitta studios in Rome were created by Mussolini's will to act as a counter against Hollywood productions; the Venice film festival is also a creation of the fascist period). Pavolini was deeply involved in the cinema industry (either on the propaganda or on the entertainment sides of it) and famously had a much publicized affair with Doris Duranti, a film actress of the period who starred in the '' Telefoni Bianchi'' subgenre of light comedy films and prominently featured in the very first bare-bosomed scene in Italian cinema. The

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allies of World War II, Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis p ...

and the ousting of Mussolini in Rome brought

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intervention and the proclamation of a new fascist puppet state, the northern

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...

. Pavolini was integrated into the Republic's administration under Mussolini, and was immediately promoted head of the successor of the PNF, the Republican Fascist Party (PFR) (the only person to occupy that post); he took part in the drafting of major documents, including the Verona

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that called for the execution of former

Grand Council of Fascism The Grand Council of Fascism (, also translated "Fascist Grand Council") was the main body of Mussolini's Fascist regime in Italy, which held and applied great power to control the institutions of government. It was created as a body of the ...

members who had voted against Mussolini in April, and was behind the creation of the

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

Black Brigades. Towards the end of the war, Pavolini devised a plan, known as the '' Ridotto Alpino Repubblicano'', for the fascists to make a

last stand A last stand, or final stand, is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming and virtually insurmountable odds. Troops may make a last stand due to a sense of duty; because they are d ...

in the

Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; (); or ; ; ) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its ski centre, hot spring spas, bresa ...

valley in the

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. He became its main advocate but the plan lacked commitment from the rest of the fascist regime and was not implemented.

Capture and death

Pavolini was captured after a desperate escape attempt which saw him swimming across

Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

and then trapped in a Mexican standoff over a half submerged rock. When Pavolini ran out of bullets, he was finally apprehended and executed only under Italian law by the partisans in Dongo. Before burial, his body was hung upside down in public, along with Mussolini, Mussolini's mistress Clara Petacci, the former Party Secretary Achille Starace, Nicola Bombacci and others in Piazzale Loreto, Milan.

References

External links

*
Italian Government
2009-10-25) at www.geocities.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pavolini, Alessandro 1903 births 1945 deaths 20th-century Italian essayists 20th-century executions by Italy 20th-century Italian journalists 20th-century Italian lawyers Ministers of culture of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXIX of the Kingdom of Italy Executed mass murderers Executed politicians Italian essayists Italian male journalists Italian male non-fiction writers Italian mass murderers Italian male writers Italian military personnel of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War Italian military personnel killed in World War II Italian male essayists Journalists from Florence Members of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations Members of the Grand Council of Fascism Mussolini Cabinet People of the Italian Social Republic People executed by Italy by firing squad Politicians from Florence Politicians killed in World War II Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Executed journalists