Augusto Turati (16 April 1888 – 27 August 1955) was an Italian journalist and

Fascist 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 soci ...

politician. Born in

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, after moving to

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

as a young man, Turati worked on newspapers and became one of the editors at the liberal ''Provincia di Brescia''; he attended law classes, but never graduated. An

irredentist Irredentism () is one state's desire to annex the territory of another state. This desire can be motivated by ethnic reasons because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to or the same as the population of the parent state. Hist ...

and advocate of Italy entering

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he volunteered for the front in 1915. In 1918, he returned to Brescia as head editor of the same newspaper. In 1920, he joined the '' Fasci Italiani di Combattimento'' - a year later, the National Fascist Party (''Partito Nazionale Fascista'', or PNF). Active in

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

ism for the régime-backed corporatist enterprises, Turati was a secretary for the Brescia '' Fascio''. In 1926-1930, he was secretary of the PNF, helping in the consolidation of

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 rule. He doubled this task with leadership positions in sports: a Federtennis president, a Federazione Italiana di Atletica Leggera one, and leader of the

Italian National Olympic Committee The Italian National Olympic Committee (, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the development and management of sports activity in ItalyWithin Italy, CONI recognizes 48 national ...

(jobs held in 1928-1930). In 1928 he and Lando Ferretti founded a sports magazine, '' Lo Sport Fascista''. In 1930-1931, he was a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

. Turati was also the inventor of a short-lived and supposedly uniquely Italian team sport which he called volata. Between 1924 and 1934, Turati served in the Italian Chamber of Deputies; in 1931-1932, he was the editor-in-chief of '' La Stampa''. Accused of intrigues against other members of the PNF, Turati was demoted from official positions, and was confined on

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

(an Italian possession at the time) in 1933. Redeemed in 1937, he was released and assigned the task of carrying out a massive

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

experiment in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

(part of Italian East Africa). He had to return to Italy after the project failed the next year. Turati moved away from the political scene, and worked as a legal consultant. He was however opposed to Italy's entry into

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 ...

, as well as to the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

-protected

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 ...

; at the end of the war, he nevertheless faced trial, but was acquitted on all charges. He died in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turati, Augusto 20th century in Ethiopia 20th-century Italian journalists 20th-century Italian male writers 1888 births 1955 deaths Italian fascists Italian magazine founders Italian male journalists La Stampa editors National Fascist Party politicians Politicians from Parma Writers from Parma Tennis executives