The Opera Nazionale Combattenti was an Italian charitable organisation set up to provide assistance to veterans of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It was established in December 1917, in the immediate aftermath of the disastrous Italian defeat at the

Battle of Caporetto The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was a battle on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central ...

(now

Kobarid Kobarid (; it, Caporetto, fur, Cjaurêt, german: Karfreit) is a settlement in Slovenia, the administrative centre of the Municipality of Kobarid. Kobarid is known for the 1917 Battle of Caporetto, where the Italian retreat was documented by Erne ...

, Slovenia), and was intended both to improve the morale of soldiers in the army and to provide for their eventual return to civilian life.

Francesco Saverio Nitti Francesco Saverio Vincenzo de Paolo Nitti (19 July 1868 – 20 February 1953) was an Italian economist and political figure. A Radical, he served as Prime Minister of Italy between 1919 and 1920. According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (" ...

and

Alberto Beneduce Alberto Beneduce (29 May 1877 – 26 April 1944) was an Italian politician, scholar and financier, who was among the founders of many significant state-run finance institutions in Italy. Early life and education Beneduce was born in Caserta ...

were influential in its establishment, and Beneduce was the first president. In 1919 the association was divided into three sections: agrarian, financial, and social. The agrarian section co-ordinated the

expropriation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

of agricultural land for re-distribution to ex-soldiers. Under the Italian Fascist régime in the years following the First World War, the association was involved in the so-called

Battle for Grain The Battle for Grain (), also known as the Battle for Wheat, was a propaganda campaign launched in 1925 during the fascist regime of Italy by Benito Mussolini, with the aim of gaining self-sufficiency in wheat production and freeing Italy from ...

in 1926, and from 1928 in the drainage of the wetlands of the

Agro Pontino 250px, Lake Fogliano, a coastal lagoon in the Pontine Plain The Pontine Marshes (, also ; it, Agro Pontino , formerly also ''Paludi Pontine''; la, Pomptinus Ager by Titus Livius, ''Pomptina Palus'' (singular) and ''Pomptinae Paludes'' (plur ...

as part of the so-called

Battle for Land The Battle For Land, started in 1928 in Italy by Benito Mussolini, aimed to clear marshland and make it suitable for farming, as well as reclaiming land and reducing health risks. Aims The primary aims of the Battle for Land was to increase the ...

. After the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

it received land under the agricultural reforms of 1950. The association was disbanded in 1977.

References

Further reading