National Union (''Unione Nazionale'') was a pro-

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 ...

Italian

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

political party during the 1920s, the first of several " Clerico-Fascist" political organizations established within the decade. The party was established with the permission of

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

, dealing the final blow to the anti-fascist Catholic Italian People's Party. The National Union's membership primarily came from aristocratic and pro-monarchist Catholics in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) 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 ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, along with members of the

Black Nobility The black nobility or black aristocracy ( it, nobiltà nera, aristocrazia nera) are Rome, Roman aristocracy, aristocratic families who sided with the Papacy under Pope Pius IX after the House of Savoy, Savoy family-led army of the Kingdom of It ...

. These groups represented over half of the signatories of the party's April 1923 manifesto. Pollard describes the National Union as "essentially an aristocratic clique". Its manifesto credited fascism with the goal of establishing "a lasting social Christian and Italian order". According to the pro-Fascist '' Il Momento'' of Turin, the party was notorious for its "hostility towards the works and towards

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

organizations".Blinkhorn, 1990, p. 35. The National Union, and the similar Centro Nazionale, supported the Fascist list in the March 1929 elections, only to virtually disappear from the political map after the conclusion of the

Lateran treaties The Lateran Treaty ( it, Patti Lateranensi; la, Pacta Lateranensia) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle t ...

.Blinkhorn, 1990, p. 44. The Centro Nazionale dissolved in the summer of 1930, leaving the National Union as the sole remaining "Clerico-Fascist" political party.

Notes

References

*Atkin, Nicholas, and Tallett, Frank. 2003. ''Priests, Prelates, and People: A History of European Catholicism Since 1750''. Oxford University Press. *Blinkhorn, Martin. 1990. ''Fascists and Conservatives: The Radical Right and the Establishment in twentieth-century Europe''. Routledge. *Pollard, John. 1996. "Italy" in ''Political Catholicism in Europe, 1918-1965''. Eds. Torn Buchanan and Martin Conway. Oxford University Press. {{Authority control Italian Fascism Defunct political parties in Italy Political parties established in 1923 Catholic political parties 1923 establishments in Italy

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References