Fascist Italy

Kingdom of Italy Regno d'Italia (Italian)
1922–1943
Flag Coat of arms (1929–1943)
Motto: FERT (Motto for the House of Savoy)
Anthem:  (1861–1943) Marcia Reale d'Ordinanza ("Royal March of Ordinance") (1924–1943) Giovinezza ("Youth")[a]
All territory ever controlled by Fascist Italy:   Kingdom of Italy   Possessions and colonies before World War II   Occupied territory and protectorates during World War II
Capital and largest city	Rome
Common languages	Italian
Religion	Catholic Christianity
Demonym(s)	Italians
Government	Unitary constitutional monarchy (1922–1925) Unitary one-party fascist constitutional monarchy under a totalitarian dictatorship (1925–1943)
King
• 1900–1946	Victor Emmanuel III
Prime Minister
• 1922–1943	Benito Mussolini
• 1943	Pietro Badoglio[b]
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	Chamber of Deputies (1922–1939) Chamber of Fasces and Corporations (1939–1943)
History
• March on Rome	31 October 1922
• Corfu incident	29 August 1923
• Lateran Treaty	11 February 1929
• Stresa Front	14 April 1935
• Invasion of Ethiopia	1935–1936
• Intervention in Spain	1936–1939
• Invasion of Albania	7–12 April 1939
• Pact of Steel	22 May 1939
• Entry into WWII	10 June 1940
• Tripartite Pact	27 September 1940
• Fall of Fascism	25 July 1943
• Armistice	3 September 1943
• Surrender	29 September 1943
Area
1938 (including colonies)[1]	3,798,000 km2 (1,466,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1936	42,993,602
Currency	Lira (₤)
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of Italy Italian Social Republic
^ De facto, as anthem of the National Fascist Party. ^ As Prime Minister only. The title Duce had been dismantled by King Victor Emmanuel III and by Marshal Badoglio after the overthrow of Mussolini on 25 July 1943.

Fascist Italy (Italian: Italia fascista) is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy when it was governed by the National Fascist Party from 1922 to 1943 with Benito Mussolini as prime minister and dictator. The Italian Fascists imposed totalitarian rule and crushed political opposition, while simultaneously promoting economic modernization, traditional social values and a rapprochement with the Roman Catholic Church.

According to historian Stanley G. Payne, "[the] Fascist government passed through several relatively distinct phases". The first phase (1922–1925) was nominally a continuation of the parliamentary system, albeit with a "legally-organized executive dictatorship". In foreign policy, Mussolini ordered the Pacification of Libya against rebels in the Italian colonies of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica (eventually unified in Italian Libya), inflicted the bombing of Corfu, established a protectorate over Albania, and annexed the city of Fiume into Italy after a treaty with the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The second phase (1925–1929) was "the construction of the Fascist dictatorship proper". The third phase (1929–1935) saw less interventionism in foreign policy. The fourth phase (1935–1940) was characterized by an aggressive foreign policy: the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, which was launched from Eritrea and Somaliland; confrontations with the League of Nations, leading to sanctions; growing economic autarky; the invasion of Albania; and the signing of the Pact of Steel. The fifth phase (1940–1943) was World War II itself, ending in military defeat, while the sixth and final phase (1943–1945) was the rump Salò Government under German control.^[2]

Italy was a leading member of the Axis powers in World War II, battling with initial success on several fronts. However, after the German-Italian defeat in Africa, the successes of the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front, and the subsequent Allied landings in Sicily, King Victor Emmanuel III overthrew and arrested Mussolini. The new government signed an armistice with the Allies in September 1943. Nazi Germany seized control of the northern half of Italy and rescued Mussolini, setting up the Italian Social Republic (RSI), a collaborationist puppet state which was ruled by Mussolini and Fascist loyalists.

From that point onward, the country descended into civil war, and the large Italian resistance movement continued to wage its guerrilla war against the German and RSI forces. Mussolini was captured and killed by the resistance on 28 April 1945, and hostilities ended the next day. Shortly after the war, civil discontent led to the 1946 institutional referendum on whether Italy would remain a monarchy or become a republic. The Italians decided to abandon the monarchy and form the Italian Republic, the present-day Italian state.