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Freemasonry in Italy () dates to the first half of the eighteenth century. Its success largely depended on the lack of enthusiasm with which Papal bans on the order were enforced in the various states. After the end of the Napoleonic regime, Freemasonry was suppressed in most of the peninsula. The start of the unification process in 1859 saw a revival in Freemasonry.
Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...
, a leader of
Italian unification The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...
, was an active Mason and a keen supporter of the craft. In the 1920s, Freemasonry was again suppressed under
Italian fascism 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 ...
but revived again after the fall 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 ...
. In the 1980s the
Propaganda Due (; P2) was a Masonic lodge, founded in 1877, within the tradition of Continental Freemasonry and under the authority of Grand Orient of Italy. Its Masonic charter was withdrawn in 1976, and it was transformed by Worshipful Master Licio Gell ...
scandal attracted national attention, damaging Masonry's image. Into the 21st century, Italy contains a wide variety of Masonic observances, regular, liberal, male, female and mixed.


History


Origins

The early history of Freemasonry in the Italian peninsula precedes the unification of the country in 1859–60, and must be dealt with as it occurs in separate states. A minute of 1845 records a lodge called ''Fidelitas'' being founded at
Girifalco Girifalco is a ''comune'' and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of southern Italy. History The first settlements in the area date back to prehistoric times, as evidenced by the archaeological finds discovered in the area a ...
in
Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
in 1723. In spite of the lack of earlier records, this is often cited as the first
Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...
in Italy. Lack of documentation is a major problem in tracing the history of Italian Freemasonry. Many documents were burned by
Fascists 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 h ...
in the 1920s, often assisted by Freemasons who wished to destroy any record of their own participation.Grande Oriente del Tre Mari d'Italia, ''Massoneria Italiana del 1700''
accessed 16 October 2014


Tuscany

Sometime before August 1732, Lord Charles Sackville, then Earl of Middlesex, later the second Duke of Dorset, founded a lodge in Florence which later attracted Italian noblemen and intellectuals. It also attracted the interest of the Inquisition, and its Italian secretary,
Tommaso Crudeli Tommaso Baldasarre Crudeli (December 21, 1702 – March 27, 1745) was a Florentine Freethought, free thinker who was imprisoned by the Roman Inquisition. He was a poet, lawyer, champion of free thought and is remembered as the first martyr of Un ...
, was imprisoned and tortured, later dying as a result. Two lodges were formed in
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...
in 1763 and 1765 under the
Antient Grand Lodge of England The Ancient Grand Lodge of England, as it is known today, or ''The Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons (according to the Old Constitutions granted by His Royal Highness Prince Edwin, at York, An ...
, and the
Premier Grand Lodge of England The organisation now known as the Premier Grand Lodge of England was founded on 24 June 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster. Originally concerned with the practice of Freemasonry in London and Westminster, it soon became known as ...
produced two more in the same city in 1771. Lodges were also formed when French troops were quartered in Leghorn in 1796–97, but all were closed by the Grand Duke in 1800. Lodges were again formed in Florence and Leghorn in 1807-09 after annexation by France, but the end of French rule in 1814 meant the end of Freemasonry until Tuscany became part of the Italian State in 1859.


Rome and the Papal States

The
Gormogons The Ancient Noble Order of the Gormogons was a short-lived 18th century secret society formed by expelled Freemason Philip Wharton, 1st Duke of Wharton, Philip Wharton. It left no records or accomplishments to indicate its true goal and purpose. Fr ...
arrived in Rome before the Freemasons, setting up a lodge in 1724 which may have survived until 1735. The purpose of the lodge may have been the advocacy of
Jacobitism Jacobitism was a political ideology advocating the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British throne. When James II of England chose exile after the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, ...
. Freemasonry arrived in 1733 in the form of an English-speaking lodge (often called the ''Jacobite Lodge of Rome'') which admitted the exiled
George Seton, 5th Earl of Winton George Seton, 5th Earl of Winton (c. 1678–1749) was a Scottish nobleman who took part in the Jacobite rising of 1715 supporting "The Old Pretender" James Stuart. Captured by the English, Seton was tried and sentenced to death, but escaped an ...
. In 1737, the lodge officers were arrested by the Inquisition, and the lodge closed down. The first Papal Bull against Freemasonry was issued the following year, making it illegal in the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
. Foreign masons, however, continued to meet in secret, issuing a medal honouring
Martin Folkes Martin Folkes (29 October 1690 – 28 June 1754) was an English antiquary, numismatist, mathematician and astronomer who served as the president of the Royal Society from 1741 to 1752. Life Folkes was born in Westminster on 29 October 1690, ...
in 1742. A permanent lodge was established in 1787, but erased by the Inquisition two years later, the same day that
Cagliostro Giuseppe Balsamo (; 2 June 1743 – 26 August 1795), known by the alias Count Alessandro di Cagliostro ( , ), was an Italian occultist and confidence trickster. Cagliostro was an Italian adventurer and self-styled magician. He became a gl ...
was captured. Freemasonry flourished in Rome after the French invasion of 1809, but suppression returned with the Pope in 1814. Although the Grand Orient of Turin managed to establish a lodge in 1861, it was not until 1870 and the incorporation of the Papal States into the
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
that Freemasonry was again permitted.R. F. Gould, The History of Freemasonry, Vol IV, 1889, ''Italy'' pp104-111


Naples and the Two Sicilies

A masonic seal dated to 1728 in Naples appears to belong to a lodge named "Perfect Union", about which nothing else is known. No trace, likewise, can be found of the lodge patented in London in 1731 to be formed in Naples. In 1750, a Neapolitan lodge was established by a Greek, but after the publication, on 28 May 1751, of the Bull ''Providas Romanorum Pontificum'' issued by
Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV (; ; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Benedict X (1058–1059) is now con ...
to reiterate the papal condemnation of 1738, Charles VII of Bourbon (who later became King
Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...
) issued an edict (10 July 1751) that prohibited Freemasonry in the
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...
. He changed his mind the next year, entrusting his son's education to a Mason and a priest. In 1764 a national Grand Lodge was established, and Freemasonry seemed firmly established in the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...
. However, in 1775 Tannuci, a minister of Ferdinand IV, persuaded him to ban Freemasonry again. Using
Agents provocateurs An is a person who actively entices another person to commit a crime that would not otherwise have been committed and then reports the person to the authorities. They may target individuals or groups. In jurisdictions in which conspiracy is a ...
Tannuci induced some masons to meet illegally, which allowed him to make arrests. Queen Caroline then intervened on the mason's behalf, convincing her husband to revoke the edict and dismiss Tannuci. In 1781 the ban was renewed, and its revocation two years later came with such restrictions that Freemasonry in the Two Sicilies died out. Flourishing briefly during the French occupation from 1804 to 1814, the ban was again imposed on their expulsion. Freemasonry in the Two Sicilies had a fitful, clandestine existence, last recorded in Palermo in 1848.


Sicily

Two Masonic lodges were founded in
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
: in 1762 the "San Giovanni di Scozia" in
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
and in 1764 the "Saint Jean d'Ecosse du Secret et de l'Harmonie" in
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
.


Genoa and Liguria

In
Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...
between 1745 and 1749 there were at least two lodges in
Bordighera Bordighera (; , locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Imperia, Liguria (Italy). Geography Bordighera is located from the land border between Italy and France, the French coast is visible from the town. Having the Capo Sant'Ampel ...
and
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
, connected with the presence of French troops defending the Republic. Towards the end of the century, two other lodges were formed in Genoa. In 1780 one arose adhering to the Rectified Scottish Rite and another, in 1782, obtained a charter from the
Premier Grand Lodge of England The organisation now known as the Premier Grand Lodge of England was founded on 24 June 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster. Originally concerned with the practice of Freemasonry in London and Westminster, it soon became known as ...
as the ''Old British and Ligurian Lodge''. Two came into existence under the
Grand Orient of France The Grand Orient de France (, abbr. GODF) is the oldest and largest of several Freemasonic organizations based in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe (as it was formed out of an older Grand Lodge of France in 1773, and briefly absorbe ...
when Liguria was annexed by Napoleon, but in 1814 the region was given to Sardinia and Freemasonry ceased to exist.


Republic of Venice

In 1746 a lodge was founded in
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, which became associated with
Giacomo Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (; ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer who was born in the Republic of Venice and travelled extensively throughout Europe. He is chiefly remembered for his autobiography, written in French and pu ...
,
Carlo Goldoni Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni (, also , ; 25 February 1707 – 6 February 1793) was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays ...
, and Francesco Griselini. It survived until 1755 when the intervention of the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...
led to the arrest of Casanova and the dissolution of the lodge. New lodges were founded in 1772, with warrants from the
Premier Grand Lodge of England The organisation now known as the Premier Grand Lodge of England was founded on 24 June 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster. Originally concerned with the practice of Freemasonry in London and Westminster, it soon became known as ...
, in Venice and
Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
, on the initiative of the Secretary of the Senate, Peter Gratarol, which remained active until 1777. The
Rite of Strict Observance The Rite of Strict Observance was a Rite of Freemasonry, a series of progressive degrees that were conferred by the Order of Strict Observance, a Masonic body of the 18th century. History Baron Karl Gotthelf von Hund (1722–1776) introduced ...
established a chapter in
Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
in 1781, which opened another in
Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...
shortly afterwards. All Freemasonry was suppressed in 1785.


Milan and Lombardy

The lodge founded in
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
in 1756 was quickly discovered by the Austrian authorities, which led to an edict (6 May 1757), whereby the governor,
Francesco III d'Este, Duke of Modena Francesco III d'Este (Francesco Maria; 2 July 1698 – 22 February 1780) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1737 until his death. Biography He was born in Modena, the son of Rinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena, and Duchess Charlotte of Brunswic ...
, banned Masonic meetings throughout Lombardy. However, the lodge continued to exist and in 1783 joined the Grand Lodge of
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. The following year Earl Wilczeck, minister plenipotentiary imperial Milan, assumed the office of Provincial Grand Master for the Austrian Lombardy. In 1776 a lodge was added in
Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...
.


Cisalpine Republic

In 1797, most of Northern Italy east of Piedmont and north of the Papal States became the
Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic (; ) was a sister republic or a client state of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organized two ...
. In 1801 it became the Italian Republic and in 1805 the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King. The
Grand Orient of France The Grand Orient de France (, abbr. GODF) is the oldest and largest of several Freemasonic organizations based in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe (as it was formed out of an older Grand Lodge of France in 1773, and briefly absorbe ...
formed the new state's first lodge in
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
in 1801, and in 1805 Milan also hosted a Supreme Council of the
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is a rite within the broader context of Freemasonry. It is the most widely practiced Rite in the world. In some parts of the world, and in the Droit Humain, it is a concordant body and ov ...
. The Grand Orient of Naples amalgamated with the new body, and a new Grand Orient was born, recognised by Paris. Freemasonry briefly flourished, until the new state was broken up and Freemasonry was suppressed in 1814.


The Kingdom of Sardinia, Savoy and Piedmont

During the period when Freemasonry was first established in Italy,
Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...
and
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
were part of the
Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...
. In 1749 in Chambery, a lodge was founded on the basis of a license from the provincial grand master for Savoy and Piedmont issued by the Grand Lodge of London in 1739 to the Marquis de Bellegarde François Noyel. In 1752, the same lodge took the name of the Mother Grand Lodge, with the power to create other lodges in all the territories of the Kingdom of Sardinia and, in fact, in 1765 three of them were created, including one in
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
. The latter assumed such importance as to be accorded, in 1773, autonomy from the Grand Lodge at Chambery. In Piedmont, a lodge was also present in
Novi Ligure Novi Ligure (; , ; , ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) north of Genoa, in the province of Alessandria, in the Italian region of Piedmont. The town produces food, iron, steel, and textiles. It is an important junction for both road and railroad ...
. After French domination, the regions were handed back to Sardinia in 1814, and Freemasonry repressed.


Re-establishment in the Risorgimento

The
Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...
, or unification of Italy, is generally taken to have commenced with the acquisition of most of Northern Italy by
Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 until 17 March ...
of Sardinia, and unfolded over several years as diplomacy and
Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...
's conquests extended the new kingdom. The resurgence of Freemasonry dates from the same year, as a new lodge was formed in Turin, followed by other cities, including Rome. Twenty-two of these lodges met on 26 December 1861 and proclaimed the
Grand Orient of Italy The Grand Orient of Italy (GOI) () is an Italian masonic grand lodge founded in 1805; the viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais was instrumental in its establishment. It was based at the Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome, Italy from 1901 until 1985 and is no ...
on 1 January 1862. The diplomat
Costantino Nigra Lorenzo Annibale Costantino Nigra, Count of Villa Castelnuovo (11 June 1828 – 1 July 1907), was an Italian nobleman, philologist, poet, diplomat and politician. Among the several positions that he held and political and foreign affairs in whi ...
was elected Grand Master, and Garibaldi was named as honorary Past Grand Master. The new Grand Orient only claimed jurisdiction over the three basic degrees of craft masonry. However, four other bodies had already arisen claiming to govern the Ancient and Accepted Scottish rite (of 33 degrees) for their part of Italy. These were at Palermo (where Garibaldi had been elected Grand Master), Naples, Turin and Livorno. Opposition to the Grand Orient centred on Naples, while the Grand Orient refused to recognise any of the Scottish Rite bodies. While the Grand Orient continued to grow, it was only recognised in Belgium and France. In 1863, internal dissension led to all but one of the Grand officers resigning, and their places being taken by Scottish Rite masons. The new arrangement merely led to a re-alignment of the divisions in Italian Freemasonry. Between 1864 and 1867 there were four Grand Bodies in Italy, By 1867 the Grand Orient was based in Florence, and had about 150 lodges. Two Scottish Rite Councils existed in Palermo and one in Milan. Garibaldi personally intervened. His Masonic congress in Naples in 1867 started a process of unification of the grand bodies, which was completed in 1873 when the Supreme Council of Palermo amalgamated with the Grand Orient. On 21 April 1901, the Grand Orient opened its new headquarters in Palazzo Giustiniani in Rome. A disagreement over secularism in elementary schools led in 1908 to the secession of the Supreme Council of Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. The stated reason for dissension was the increasing politicisation of the Grand Orient. On 21 March 1910, this body established the
Grand Lodge of Italy 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 ...
, with Protestant pastor Saverio Fera, a former adherent of Garibaldi, as Grand Master. From its headquarters it became known as the ''Grand Lodge of Piazza del Gesù''. In 1904 the first lodge of
Le Droit Humain The International Order of Freemasonry ''Le Droit Humain'' is a global Masonic order, membership of which is available to men and women on equal terms, regardless of nationality, religion or ethnicity. This practice is known as Co-Freemasonry ...
was installed in Rome by
Annie Besant Annie Besant (; Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was an English socialist, Theosophy (Blavatskian), theosophist, freemason, women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist and campaigner for Indian nationalism. She was an arden ...
. The subsequent lodges were organized into a Federation in 1916. Le Droit Humain is the oldest Freemasonry for Men and Women in Italy. In 1914, at the fourteenth national congress of the
Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Social democracy, social democratic and Democratic socialism, democratic socialist political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parti ...
, held in
Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...
,
Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...
managed to impose his motion for the incompatibility between party membership and Freemasonry, winning over that of the freemason Alfredo Poggi who was instead in favor.


Repression under Fascism

As
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 ...
rose to power, many of Italy's Freemasons became ardent fascists, and some helped organise Mussolini's
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 ...
. However, in 1923 Freemasonry was declared incompatible with Fascism, and in spite of protestations of loyalty from the Grand Lodge, was banned outright in 1925. General
Luigi Capello Luigi Capello (14 April 1859 – 25 June 1941) was an Italian general, distinguished in both the Italo-Turkish War (1911–12) and World War I. During the Italo-Turkish War he served in Cyrenaica and took part in operations near Derna, comman ...
was expelled from the party in 1923 for refusing to leave his lodge, and the next year was accused of plotting to assassinate Mussolini. He was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment. In the wake of the verdict, the Grand Master of the Grand Orient and 44 other masons were sent, without trial, into exile in the
Lipari Islands Lipari (; ) is a ''comune'' including six of seven islands of the Aeolian Islands (Lipari, Vulcano, Panarea, Stromboli, Filicudi and Alicudi) and it is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, Southern Italy; it is admin ...
. Italian Freemasonry continued in exile, with Italian masons contributing to the Republican cause in the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
. Freemasonry did not return to Italy until the fall of Fascism towards the end of the Second World War.


Rebuilding after fascism

On 4 December 1943, in the house of Salvatore Farina in Rome, members of the Grand Lodge of Italy reconstituted the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite, electing Carlo de Cantellis as Sovereign Grand Commander. There followed years of schism and confusion, as different groups attempted to revive their own brand of Freemasonry. The Grand Orient of Italy was recognised by the
United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...
on 13 September 1972 (the recognition was transferred to the ''Regular Grand Lodge of Italy'' in 1993, although many other regular Grand Lodges continue to recognise the Grand Orient). In 1973, attempts to unite the Grand Orient and the Grand Lodge failed due to the Grand Lodge's acceptance of female initiation. Nevertheless, 200 lodges of the Grand Lodge transferred their allegiance to the Grand Orient. The Grand Lodge, under Giovanni Ghinazzi, continued in its own tradition and continued to prosper.


Propaganda Due

A major scandal affecting the Grand Orient arose in the 1980s from the exposure of illegal activity in a lodge called ''Propaganda Due (P2)''. The lodge was originally formed in 1877 as ''Propaganda massonica''. Its purpose was to ensure privacy for masons of national importance, both within and outside the organization. Refounded after World War II (hence ''P2''), it was under the direct control of the Grand Master of the Grand Orient until the advent of
Licio Gelli Licio Gelli (; 21 April 1919 – 15 December 2015) was an Italian Freemason and businessman. A fascist volunteer in his youth, he is chiefly known for his role in the Banco Ambrosiano scandal. He was revealed in 1981 as being the Venerable ...
. After Gelli's appointment as master in 1975, he was able to gather together in secret at least a thousand prominent individuals, mainly politicians and State administrators, and the publication of his subversive program of ''socio-political and institutional structure'' caused one of the worst political scandals in the history of the Italian Republic. On 31 October 1981, seven months after the discovery of the lists of affiliates of P2, the central court of the Grand Orient of Italy, presided over by the new grandmaster Armando Corona, expelled Gelli to avoid further scandals. They stated that P2 had been suspended in 1976. A Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry, chaired by
Tina Anselmi Tina Anselmi (25 March 1927 – 1 November 2016) was an Italian politician. A member of the Italian resistance movement during World War II, she went on to become the first woman to hold a ministerial position in an Italian government. Early li ...
, concluded that the lodge was subversive, and a "
criminal organization In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
". The lodge was legally dissolved on 25 January 1982. The P2 scandal seriously damaged the image of Freemasonry in Italy, damaging all the various Italian Masonic movements, and not just the Grand Orient of Italy, of which P2 was a part. In 1993, in the aftermath of a further judicial inquiry, the so-called ''Cordova investigation'' (after the Public Prosecutor of Palmi, Agostino Cordova), the then Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Italy, Giuliano Di Bernardo ( it), elected to distance himself from the organisation, founding the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy ( it), which immediately gained (and still retains) the recognition of the
United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...
.


Holidays

The feast of Italian Freemasonry is celebrated on
20 September Events Pre-1600 *1058 – Agnes of Poitou and Andrew I of Hungary meet to negotiate about the border territory of Burgenland. *1066 – At the Battle of Fulford, Harald Hardrada defeats earls Morcar and Edwin. * 1187 – Saladin ...
each year, on occasion of the anniversary of the
breach of Porta Pia The Capture of Rome () occurred on 20 September 1870, as forces of the Kingdom of Italy took control of the city and of the Papal States. After a plebiscite held on 2 October 1870, Rome was officially made capital of Italy on 3 February 1871, c ...
.


Main masonic obediences

*
Grande Oriente d'Italia The Grand Orient of Italy (GOI) () is an Italian masonic grand lodge founded in 1805; the viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais was instrumental in its establishment. It was based at the Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome, Italy from 1901 until 1985 and is no ...
(Grand Orient of Italy) * Gran Loggia d’Italia (Grand Lodge of Italy; the "Piazza del Gesú" or "Palazzo Vitelleschi" Obedience) * Regular Grand Lodge of Italy * Gran Loggia Italiana * Ordine Massonico Tradizionale Italiano * Gran Loggia Massonica Femminile d’Italia * Gran Loggia Nazionale dei Liberi Muratori d'Italia * Gran Loggia Italiana dei Riti Egizi
The International Order of Freemasonry for Men and Women, LE DROIT HUMAIN - Italian Federation


External links


The International Order of Freemasonry for Men and Women ''Le Droit Humain''The International Order of Freemasonry for Men and Women ''Le Droit Humain'' — Italian FederationGrande Oriente d’Italia


References


Bibliography

* {{Freemasonry in Europe Masonic organizations