Attilio Tamaro (13 July 1884 – 20 February 1956) was an Italian diplomat, historian, and journalist. He represented

fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...

consul-general A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

in Hamburg (1927–29), and as ambassador to Finland (1930–35) and Switzerland (1935–43).

Early life

Born in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, then part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, Tamaro graduated with a dissertation on the history of art in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

. A fiery

Italian nationalist Italian nationalism () is a movement which believes that the Italians are a nation with a single homogeneous identity, and therefrom seeks to promote the cultural unity of Italy as a country. From an Italian nationalist perspective, Italianness i ...

, he espoused the cause of

Italian irredentism Italian irredentism ( ) was a political movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Kingdom of Italy, Italy with irredentism, irredentist goals which promoted the Unification of Italy, unification of geographic areas in which indig ...

, or the annexation of Italian-speaking areas by Italy. In World War I, he served as a volunteer in the Italian army. After Trieste joined Italy in 1919, Tamaro wrote for nationalist papers and joined the

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 Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, Italian Fasces of Combat. Th ...

in 1922.

Diplomatic service

In 1927, the fascist regime began to staff its diplomatic service with long-serving party members. Benefiting from this policy, Tamaro, who had no diplomatic training, was appointed as consul-general in Hamburg (1927–29), then as ambassador to Finland (1930–35). After rejecting an appointment in China, he was appointed ambassador to Switzerland in October 1935. Posted to Bern, Tamaro conveyed a thoroughly negative image of the country in his reports and in his diary. He expressed disdain for Swiss democracy, which he considered decadent, and Swiss political and military leaders, which he considered mediocre or feeble. Still, he opposed an Axis attack on Switzerland for strategic reasons: he feared that Germany would annex most of the country, leaving the Germans at the gates of Milan. His view was shared in the Italian foreign ministry, although Tamaro privately assumed that was mainly because many fascist leaders stored the benefits of their corruption in Swiss bank accounts. Tamaro's diplomatic service came to an end after a friend of his, the financier

Camillo Castiglioni Camillo Castiglioni (22 October 1879 – 18 December 1957) was an Italian-Austrian Jewish financier and banker, and was the wealthiest man in Central Europe during World War I. Nicknamed "Austrian Stinnes", he was active in aviation's pioneering ...

, who was both a Jew and a supporter of the fascist regime, was involved in a financial scandal concerning a fuel refinery in Switzerland. Tamaro's attempts to aid Castiglioni (as well as his superiors' dissatisfaction with his work) led to his recall and forced retirement in May 1943, as well as his expulsion from the Party as a "friend of the Jews".

Post-war life

In the early 1950s, Tamaro resumed his work as a historian, writing works on the history of the fascist regime and the 1943–45 civil war. He died embittered in 1956 in Rome, having described his life as "pointless and worthless".

Literature

Tamaro's diplomatic service in Finland is covered by a 2016 doctoral thesis by Andrea Rizzi. His service in Switzerland is the subject of a chapter in Tindaro Gatani's book on Italian diplomats in Switzerland and by a 2023 article by Marco Jorio in the ''

Neue Zürcher Zeitung The (''NZZ''; "New Newspaper of Zurich") is German language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zurich. The paper was founded in 1780. It has a reputation as a high-quality newspaper, as the German Swiss newspaper of record ...

''. His 800-page diary was edited and published by Gianni Scipione Rossi in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamaro, Attilio 1884 births 1956 deaths People from Trieste Ambassadors of Italy to Switzerland Ambassadors of Italy to Finland Italian historians Italian journalists Italian fascists