Cesare Rossi (born 21 September 1887 in

Pescia Pescia () is an Italian city in the province of Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy. It is located in a central zone between the cities Lucca and Florence, on the banks of the river of the same name. History Archaeological excavations have suggest ...

– died 9 August 1967 in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

) was an Italian

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

leader who later became estranged from the regime.

Syndicalism

Rossi began his political career on the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

with the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892, ...

and as a writer for various

syndicalist Syndicalism is a revolutionary current within the left-wing of the labor movement that seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes with the eventual goal of gaining control over the means of pr ...

journals.

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 Pr ...

, ''

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 ...

'', 1990, p. 330 However he left the Socialists in 1907 to serve in the

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

and did not rejoin following his demobilisation. Instead he embraced syndicalism fully by becoming a leading member of the ''

Unione Sindacale Italiana Unione Sindacale Italiana (''USI''; ''Italian Syndicalist Union'' or ''Italian Workers' Union'') is an anarcho-syndicalist trade union. It is the Italian section of the International Workers' Association (IWA; ''Associazione Internazionale dei Lav ...

''. He joined the ''Fasci di Azione Rivoluzionaria'' in 1914 and by 1919 this had led to him joining the ''

Fasci italiani di combattimento The ''Fasci Italiani di Combattimento'' ( en, Italian Fasces of Combat, link=yes, also translatable as ''"Italian Fighting Bands"'' or ''"Italian Fighting Leagues"'') was an Italian Fascism, Italian Fascist organization created by Benito Mussolin ...

''.

Fascism

A leading writer for ''

Il Popolo d'Italia ''Il Popolo d'Italia'' ("The People of Italy") 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 ...

'', Rossi was recognised as one of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

's closest advisers in the early days of the fascist movement. Rossi soon gained a reputation for his moderation and was instrumental in the

Pact of Pacification The Pact of Pacification or Pacification Pact was a peace agreement officially signed by Benito Mussolini, who would later become dictator of Italy, and other leaders of the ''Fasci'' with the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) and the General Confedera ...

, a 1921 agreement that temporarily slowed down the violence of the

Blackshirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Natio ...

.Rees, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right'', p. 331 Working with Mussolini he also developed a strategy of trying to win over the left into a

cross-class alliance A cross-class alliance is a term for an organisation that bypasses social-economic classes in pursuit of its aim. It is often used by Trotskyists as a term of abuse towards popular fronts as they prefer working class united front A united front ...

. He attained the rank of assistant secretary of the movement in 1921 and was effective leader in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

whilst he went on to sit on the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...

national council and the

Grand Council of Fascism The Grand Council of Fascism (, also translated "Fascist Grand Council") was the main body of Mussolini's Fascist government in Italy, that held and applied great power to control the institutions of government. It was created as a body of the ...

. He was the leader of a fasci and an important figure in the

March on Rome The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état 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, Fa ...

. Following this seizure of power Rossi was appointed director of Mussolini's Press and Propaganda Office. He was also central in organising not only the 1924 election but also the reprisals against the areas that had rejected fascism which followed. A potential conflict of interest had arisen in February 1923 when Mussolini banned Fascist Party members from involvement in

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

but ultimately the ban was not enforced as Rossi was just one of a number of Freemasons prominent within the party.

Allegations of murder

Rossi's rise through the ranks of the fascist state came to an abrupt end in 1924 with the murder of

Giacomo Matteotti Giacomo Matteotti (; 22 May 1885 – 10 June 1924) was an Italian socialist politician. On 30 May 1924, he openly spoke in the Italian Parliament alleging the Fascists committed fraud in the recently held elections, and denounced the violence ...

after he was accused of being responsible. It was argued that Rossi, who had flown into a rage after one of the two speeches that sealed Matteotti's fate, had ordered his deputy

Amerigo Dumini Amerigo Dumini (January 3, 1894 – December 25, 1967) was an American-born Italian fascist hitman who led the group responsible for the 1924 assassination of Unitary Socialist Party leader Giacomo Matteotti. Biography ...

to kill the Socialist deputy for his

anti-fascism Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

. The incident, which angered even some fascists, led to a split between Rossi and Mussolini. Rossi fled to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and then

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

to escape prosecution and became a critic of fascism in his exile. He was tricked into returning to Italy in 1928 and was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for his part in the murder. He was released after the fall of fascism and, following some investigations into his own past that acquitted him of involvement in the excesses of fascism, he returned to

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

and left politics behind. In the

Florestano Vancini Florestano Vancini (24 August 1926 – 18 September 2008) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed over 20 films since 1960. His 1966 film '' Le stagioni del nostro amore'', starring Enrico Maria Salerno, was entered into ...

's film

The Assassination of Matteotti ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

(1973), Rossi is played by

Cesare Barbetti Cesare Barbetti (29 September 1930 – 13 September 2006) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Barbetti began his career as a child actor in films during the Fascist era. He also worked as a voice actor, dubbing foreign-language films for the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Cesare 1887 births 1967 deaths Italian fascists Italian male journalists Italian soldiers Italian Socialist Party politicians National syndicalists People from Pescia Exiled Italian politicians 20th-century Italian journalists

Syndicalism

Fascism

Allegations of murder

Further reading

References