The image of Fascism in Italian newspapers one hundred years after the March on Rome

This essay shows how in the centenary year of the march on Rome Italian newspapers gave wide prominence to this anniversary, offering different images of Fascism. In mainstream newspapers, the image of Fascism as an expression of brutal violence has prevailed, portrayed by successful journalists, such as Aldo Cazzullo (Corriere della sera) and Ezio Mauro (La Repubblica). This representation was antithetical to the nostalgic and con-solatory one long shared by moderate public opinion. The right-wing press, close to the new government led by Giorgia Meloni, did not mani-fest nostalgia or complacency towards the Ventennio, but denied the totali-tarian nature of Fascism. For the communist daily Il manifesto, Fascism seized power with a “mass reactionary action” directed against the work-ing class, and the march on Rome was essentially a farce. In Il Fatto quo-tidiano, journalist Claudio Fracassi called it a bluff, while historian Marco Mondini, in Domani, wrote that it was an “enigma”. Newspapers’ narration of history is a typical case of Public History. In the new digital world, how-ever, in order to reach the general public, historians will have to be pre-sent not only in now obsolete printed newspapers, but also on television and social media.

Keywords: Fascism, Ventennio, image, newspapers, press, Public History

Pierluigi Allotti, L’immagine del fascismo nella stampa quotidiana italiana a cent’anni dalla marcia su Roma in "MONDO CONTEMPORANEO" 2-3/2023, pp 267-285, DOI: 10.3280/MON2023-002010