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

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 ...

Early life

Born in Rome, Giuseppe was son of Luigi, a wine dealer with republican sympathies, and Elena Cortesia. He graduated at '' Liceo Torquato Tasso'' and attended the

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

until the 1915, when Italy declared war to the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in W ...

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

Italian Royal Army The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) 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 Manf ...

. 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 Sardinian award. It is awarded to military personnel, units above the level of company, and civilians for exceptio ...

after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. In 1919, Bottai met

during a Futurist 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 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 ...

, member of the '' Gran Loggia d'Italia''. At the same time he also started a journalist career in the '' Il Popolo d'Italia'', the newspaper of the recently founded

. During 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 192 ...

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

squadrismo ''Squadrismo'' () was the movement of ''squadre d’azione'' (literally ‘action squads’), the fascist militias organized outside the authority of the Italian state and led by local leaders called ''ras'' (a title given to the Abyssinian headme ...

'', supporting the Blackshirts' political violence.

Political career

After 1921 election, 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 Bourbon R ...

for the National Blocs but was removed for his young age. He returned to the Chamber in 1924 and stayed until 1943. In 1923, he became leader of the intransigent national-syndicalist and revolutionary faction of fascism. To support his ideas, Bottai founded '' Critica fascista'' ("Fascist Critic"), a cultural periodical, co-operating with other left-leaning fascists like

Filippo De Pisis Filippo De Pisis (11 May 1896 – 2 April 1956) was an Italian painter and poet. Biography He was born Luigi Filippo Tibertelli in Ferrara. He studied literature and philosophy at the University of Bologna beginning in 1914.Gale, Matthew and ...

, Renato Guttuso and

Mario Mafai Mario Mafai (12 February 1902 – 31 March 1965) was an Italian painter. With his wife Antonietta Raphaël he founded the modern art movement called the Scuola Romana, or Roman school. Biography Mafai left school very early, preferring to at ...

. From 1030 he contributed to the political and finance magazine '' Lo Stato''. Bottai worked to the Ministry of Corporations, introducing the Labour Charter and planning a "Corporative Academic Pole" in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' 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 its leaning tower, the ci ...

, 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 ( it, Istituto nazionale della previdenza sociale, 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 which was fought between Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy and Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethio ...

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 regime ...

entered in

Addis Abeba Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

, and Bottai was appointed as vice governor. After the war, Bottai returned in Rome to be Education Minister. During his ministry, Bottai proclaimed a law (the so-called "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 (Siena, 8 April 1906 – Vignano, 19 January 1988) was an art critic and historian, specialist in conservation-restoration theory. In 1939 he became the first director of the ''Istituto Centrale per il Restauro'' (Central Institute ...

to improve the Italian cultural life. In the late 1930s, Bottai became more radical and a germanophile. In 1938 he expressed support to racial laws against Italian Jews, and in 1940, he founded ''Primato'' ("Primacy") in 1941, a magazine that supported the

Aryan race The Aryan race is an obsolete historical race concept that emerged in the late-19th century to describe people of Proto-Indo-European heritage as a racial grouping. The terminology derives from the historical usage of Aryan, used by modern ...

'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, "pure" fascism.

World War II

However, 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 (4 June 1895 – 21 May 1988), 1st Conte di Mordano, 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 ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

condemned Bottai to death, during the Verona trial, but Bottai hid in a Roman convent. In 1944, Bottai enlisted in the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, cavalry, engineers, airborne troops. It was created in 1831 to allow foreign nationals into the French Army ...

with the pseudonym Andrea Battaglia. He fought in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bo ...

during

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence ( Southern France) on 15August 1944. Despite initially designed to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord ...

and then in the

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

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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 Romeo Luigi Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and a prominent member of the Christian Democracy (DC). He served as prime minister of Italy from December 1963 to June 1968 and then from November 1974 to July 1 ...

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 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'' by Philip Rees (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 World War I French military personnel of World War II Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion Exiled Italian politicians 20th-century Italian journalists Italian magazine founders