Giuseppe Bottai (3 September 1895 – 9 January 1959) was an Italian journalist and member 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 ...

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 ...

Early life

Born in Rome, Bottai was son of Luigi Bottai, a wine dealer with republican sympathies, and Elena Cortesia. He graduated at ''

Liceo Torquato Tasso The Liceo Torquato Tasso, better known as Liceo Tasso, is one of the oldest secondary schools in Rome, Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists ...

'' and attended the

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...

until the 1915, when Italy declared war to the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

. The same year, he left his studies to enlist himself in the

Italian Royal Army The Royal Italian Army () (RE) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...

. Wounded in battle, he obtained a

Medal of Military Valor The Medal of Military Valor (Italian language: ''Medaglia al valor militare'') is an Italian medal, originally established as a Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinian award. It is awarded to military personnel, units above the level of Company (milita ...

after

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 ...

. In 1919, Bottai met

during a

Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...

meeting, and contributed to establish the '' Fasci Italiani di Combattimento'' (Italian Fasces of Combat). In 1921, Bottai ended his studies at law faculty and became a

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, member of the ''

Gran Loggia d'Italia The Gran Loggia d'Italia degli A.L.A.M. (the acronym stands for Antichi Liberi e Accettati Muratori), known in English as the Grand Lodge of Italy of the A.F.A.M. (the acronym stands for Ancient Free and Accepted Masons), is a Continental Freem ...

''. At the same time, he also started a journalist career in the ''

Il Popolo d'Italia ''Il Popolo d'Italia'' (; ) was an Italian newspaper published from 15 November 1914 until 24 July 1943. It was founded by Benito Mussolini as a pro-war newspaper during World War I, and it later became the main newspaper of the Fascist movemen ...

'', the newspaper of the recently founded

. During the

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 ...

, Bottai was along with Ulisse Igliori and Gino Calza-Bini the head of the Roman ''

squadrismo () was the movement of (English: ''action squads''), the fascist militias that were organised outside the authority of the Italian state and led by local leaders called ''ras'' (a title given to Abyssinian headmen). The militia originally cons ...

'', supporting 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 ...

' political violence.

Political career

After the

1921 Italian general election General elections were held in Italy on 15 May 1921.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1047 It was the first election in which the recently acquired regions of Trentino-Alto Adige, Venezia Giulia, ...

, Bottai was elected in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

for the National Blocs. In 1923, he became leader of the intransigent

national syndicalist National syndicalism is a socially far-right adaptation of syndicalism within the broader agenda of integral nationalism. National syndicalism developed in France in the early 20th century, and then spread to Italy, Spain, and Portugal. F ...

and revolutionary faction of fascism. To support his ideas, Bottai founded ''

Critica fascista ''Critica fascista'' was a biweekly cultural magazine which was founded and edited by Giuseppe Bottai in Rome, Italy. The magazine existed during the Fascist rule in the country from 1923 to 1943. Over time it became one of the most significant ...

'' (''Fascist Critic''), a cultural periodical, co-operating with other left-leaning fascists like Filippo De Pisis,

Renato Guttuso Aldo Renato Guttuso (26 December 1911 – 18 January 1987) was an Italian painter and politician. He is considered to be among the most important Italian artists of the 20th century and is among the key figures of Italian expressionism. His art i ...

, and Mario Mafai. Starting in 1930, he contributed to the political and finance magazine ''

Lo Stato ''Lo Stato'' (Italian: ''The State'') was a monthly political and finance magazine which existed in the Fascist Italy between 1930 and 1943. Its subtitle was ''Rivista di scienze politiche e giuridiche''. History and profile ''Lo Stato'' was sta ...

''. Bottai worked to the Ministry of Corporations, introducing the Labour Charter and planning a Corporative Academic Pole in

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

, from 1926 to 1932, when he was excluded by Mussolini from the Ministry. In 1933, Bottai established and chaired the National Institute of the Social Security (, INPS). He was appointed governor of Rome (1935–1936) but resigned to fight in the

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

with the rank of major. On 5 May 1936, Bottai and

Pietro Badoglio Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino ( , ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regim ...

entered in

Addis Abeba Addis may refer to: Places *Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia **Addis Ababa University **Addis Ketema, a city district *Addis, Louisiana, a town in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, US People *Addis (name) *Raptile (born 1976), stage name Ad ...

, and Bottai was appointed as vice governor. After the war, Bottai returned in Rome to be

Education Minister An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

. During his ministry, Bottai proclaimed a law (the Bottai Law) on safeguarding public and cultural heritage and the preservation of natural beauties. He also co-worked with art critics

Giulio Carlo Argan Giulio Carlo Argan (17 May 1909 – 12 November 1992) was an Italian art historian, critic and politician. Biography Argan was born in Turin and studied in the University of Turin, graduating in 1931. In 1928 he entered the National Fascist Part ...

and

Cesare Brandi Cesare Brandi (8 April 1906 – 19 January 1988) was an art critic and historian, a specialist in conservation-restoration theory who was born in Siena and died in Vignano. In 1939 he became the first director of the ''Istituto Centrale per il R ...

to improve the Italian cultural life. In the late 1930s, Bottai became more radical and a

Germanophile A Germanophile, Teutonophile, or Teutophile is a person who is fond of Culture of Germany, German culture, Germans, German people and Germany in general, or who exhibits German patriotism in spite of not being either an ethnic German or a German ...

. In 1938, he expressed support to

racial laws Anti-Jewish laws have been a common occurrence throughout the history of antisemitism and Jewish history. Examples of such laws include special Jewish quotas, Jewish taxes and Jewish "disabilities". During the 1930s and early 1940s, some law ...

against

Italian Jews Italian Jews (; ) or Roman Jews (; ) can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in Italy, or, in a narrower sense, to mean the Italkim, an ancient community living in Italy since the Ancient Roman era, who use the It ...

, and in 1940 founded ''Primato'' (''Primacy''), a magazine that supported the

Aryan race The Aryan race is a pseudoscientific historical race concepts, historical race concept that emerged in the late-19th century to describe people who descend from the Proto-Indo-Europeans as a Race (human categorization), racial grouping. The ter ...

's supremacy and interventionism in the war. Bottai thought that the "Fascist Revolution" was incomplete and that what was needed was a return to the original and more "pure" fascism.

World War II

The Italian intervention in World War II resulted in disaster. The Campaign on the Eastern Front caused the death or the injury of approximately 77,000 soldiers, with more than 39,000 injured. Bottai voted for Mussolini's arrest, which had been proposed by

Dino Grandi Dino Grandi, 1st Conte di Mordano (4 June 1895 – 21 May 1988), was an Italian Fascist politician, minister of justice, minister of foreign affairs and president of Parliament. Early life Born at Mordano, province of Bologna, Grandi was ...

, on 25 July 1943 after Italy's defeat had become evident. In 1944, the

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 ...

condemned Bottai to death, during the

Verona trial The Verona Trial () was a show trial held in January 1944 in the Italian Social Republic (RSI) to punish the 19 members of the Grand Council of Fascism who had voted for Benito Mussolini's removal from power in the Kingdom of Italy. Six of the ...

, but Bottai hid in a Roman convent. In 1944, Bottai enlisted in the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

with the pseudonym Andrea Battaglia. He fought in

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

during

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil), known as Débarquement de Provence in French ("Provence Landing"), was the code name for the landing operation of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15Augu ...

and then in the

Western Allied invasion of Germany The Western Allied invasion of Germany was coordinated by the Allies of World War II, Western Allies during the final months of hostilities in the European theatre of World War II, European theatre of World War II. In preparation for the Allied ...

Later life

After the war, Bottai remained in France and continued to serve in the Foreign Legion until 1948, when he was discharged. For his role in the final stages of

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 ...

, he got an amnesty for his role in fascism. Returning in Italy in 1953, Bottai founded the periodical ''ABC'' (not to be confused with the magazine with the same name) and ''Il Popolo di Roma'', which was financed by ex-fascist Vittorio Cini, who supported centrist and conservative views. Bottai died in Rome in 1959. At his funeral was

Aldo Moro Aldo Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and prominent member of Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democracy (DC) and its centre-left wing. He served as prime minister of Italy in five terms from December 1963 ...

who, like Moro's father, had been Bottai's friend and assistant during his career.

Bibliography

*''Trade organisation in Italy under the act and regulations on collective relations in connection with employment'' *''Economia fascista'' (1930) *''Grundprinzipien des korporativen Aufbaus in Italien'' (1933) *''Esperienza corporativa (1929–1935)'' (1935) *''Corporazioni'' (1935) *''Scritti giuridici in onore di Santi Romano ...'' (1940) *''Funzione di Roma nella vita culturale e scientifica della nazione'' (1940) *''Pagine di critica fascista (1915–1926)'' (1941, edited by F. M. Pacces) *''Romanità e germanesimo: letture tenute per il Lyceum di Firenze'' (1941, edited by Jolanda de Blasi) *''Von der römischen zur faschistischen Korporation'' (1942) *''Köpfe des risorgimento'' (1943) *''Contributi all'elaborazione delle scienze corporative (1939-XVIII—1942-XX)'' (1943) *''Vent 'anni e un giorno, 24 luglio 1943'' (1949). Republished as ''Vent'anni e un giorno (24 luglio 1943)'' (1977). *''Legione è il mio nome'' (1950). Republished as ''Legione è il mio nome: il coraggioso epilogo di un gerarca del fascismo (I memoriali)'' (1999, edited by Marcello Staglieno) *''Scritti'' (1965, edited by Roberto Bartolozzi and Riccardo Del Giudice) *''Diario, 1935–1944'' (1982, edited by Giordano Bruno Guerri) *''Carteggio 1940–1957'', correspondence between Bottai and Don Giuseppe De Luca; edited by

Renzo De Felice Renzo De Felice (8 April 1929 – 25 May 1996) was an Italian historian, who specialized in the Fascist era, writing, among other works, a 6000-page biography of Mussolini (4 volumes, 1965–1997). He argued that Mussolini was a revolutionary m ...

and Renato Moro (1989) *''La politica delle arti: Scritti, 1918–1943'' (1992, edited by Alessandro Masi). *''Quaderni giovanili: 1915–1920 (Atti testimonianze convegni)'' (1996).

Notes

References

*''Incontro con Bottai'' by

Mario Carli Mario Carli (30 December 1888 – 9 September 1935) was an Italian poet, novelist, essayist and journalist. Biography Carli was born in San Severo, Apulia, to Florentine father and Apulian mother. He spent his formative years in Florence, where ...

and Bruno D'Agostini (1938) *''Giuseppe Bottai, un fascista critico : ideologia e azione del gerarca che avrebbe voluto portare l'intelligenza nel fascismo e il fascismo alla liberalizzazione'' by Giordano Bruno Guerri (1976 – Republished as ''Giuseppe Bottai, fascista'', 1996). *''Bottai : il fascismo come rivoluzione del capitale'' (1978, edited by Anna Panicali) *''Scuola e la pedagogia del fascismo'' by Maria Bellucci and Michele Ciliberto (1978). *''Giuseppe Bottai e la riforma fascista della scuola'' by Rino Gentili. (1979) *''Bottai tra capitale e lavoro'' by Amleto Di Marcantonio (1980) *''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the ...

'' by

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *'' Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester P ...

(1990)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bottai, Giuseppe 1895 births 1959 deaths Writers from Rome Members of the Grand Council of Fascism Education ministers of Italy Mussolini Cabinet Deputies of Legislature XXVI of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXVII of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXVIII of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXIX of the Kingdom of Italy Members of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations Mayors of Rome People of former Italian colonies Italian economists Italian male journalists Italian Freemasons National syndicalists Antisemitism in Italy Members of the Lincean Academy Italian military personnel of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II French military personnel of World War II Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion Exiled Italian politicians 20th-century Italian journalists Italian magazine founders People sentenced to death in absentia at the Verona trial