Renato Ricci (1 June 1896 – 22 January 1956) was an Italian fascist politician active during the government of Benito Mussolini.

Biography

Ricci was born on 1 June 1896 in Carrara into working-class family. He first came to prominence as a legionary of Gabriele d'Annunzio from 1919 to 1920. He was arrested for his activities and imprisoned in

Sarzana Sarzana (, ; lij, Sarzann-a) is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former short-lived Catholic bishopric in the Province of La Spezia, Liguria, Italy. It is east of Spezia, on the railway to Pisa, at the point where the railway to Parma diver ...

leading in 1920 to a failed attempt to liberate him by fascist activists which, despite being a failure proved a propaganda success. As ''

ras Ras or RAS may refer to: Arts and media * RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label * Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service * Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station * Rás 2, an Icelandic radio stati ...

'' of the

fascio Fascio (; plural ''fasci'') is an Italian language, Italian word literally meaning "a bundle" or "a sheaf", and figuratively "league", and which was used in the late 19th century to refer to political groups of many different (and sometimes oppos ...

squad in his native town Ricci initially demonstrated the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

origins of fascism by supporting a 40-day strike by quarry workers in 1924. After the spell as a squad leader in Carrara, Ricci's profile rose and he eventually became head of the '' Opera Nazionale Balilla'' youth movement. He became a member of government and served as Mussolini's Minister of Corporations. Politically he became known as one of the main

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

sympathisers in the fascist government. Indeed, along with others of a similar persuasion such as

Giovanni Preziosi Giovanni Preziosi (24 October 1881, in Torella dei Lombardi – 26 April 1945, in Milan) was an Italian fascist politician noted for his contributions to Fascist Italy. Early career Born into a middle-class family, he joined the priesthood after ...

and

Roberto Farinacci Roberto Farinacci (; 16 October 1892 – 28 April 1945) was a leading Italian Fascist politician and important member of the National Fascist Party before and during World War II as well as one of its ardent antisemitic proponents. English histo ...

, he had fled to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

before

Gran Sasso raid During World War II, the Gran Sasso raid (codenamed ''Unternehmen Eiche'', , literally "Operation Oak", by the German military) on 12 September 1943 was a successful operation by German paratroopers and ''Waffen-SS'' commandos to rescue the dep ...

and met up with ''

Il Duce ( , ) is an Italian title, derived from the Latin word 'leader', and a cognate of ''duke''. National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as ('The Leader') of the movement since the birth of the in 1919. In 1925 ...

'' there after

Otto Skorzeny Otto Johann Anton Skorzeny (12 June 1908 – 5 July 1975) was an Austrian-born German SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including th ...

's capture of the fascist leader. With a long-standing reputation for violence, he had established links with

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

through the Fascist militia before July 1943. With Nazi support, he and

Alessandro Pavolini Alessandro Pavolini (27 September 1903 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian politician, journalist, and essayist, notable for his involvement in the Fascist government, during World War II, and also for his cruelty against the opponents of fascis ...

set about creating a new paramilitary gendarmerie. He served as leader of this group, the National Republican Guard, during 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 ...

. Ricci was also the head of the

Republican Police Corps The Republican Police Corps (Italian: ''Corpo di Polizia Repubblicana'') was a police force of the Italian Social Republic during the Italian Civil War. History The Republican Police Corps was established in December 1944 as part of the Itali ...

established in December 1944 as part of the

Italian Armed Forces The Italian Armed Forces ( it, Forze armate italiane, ) encompass the Italian Army, the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force. A fourth branch of the armed forces, known as the Carabinieri, take on the role as the nation's military police and ar ...

. This group included 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 ...

, the

Italian Africa Police 140px, Badge The Italian African Police (Italian: ''Polizia dell'Africa Italiana'', or PAI), was the police force of Italian North Africa and Italian East Africa from 1 June 1936 to 1 December 1945. Characteristics Towards the end of the war i ...

members serving in Rome and the

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...

. The Corps would be the entity that would work against anti-Fascist groups and would be autonomous (not reporting to

Rodolfo Graziani Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli (; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was a prominent Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's '' Regio Esercito'' ("Royal Army"), primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and durin ...

) according to an order issued by Mussolini on 19 November 1944. Following the collapse of the

Republic of Salo 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 ...

Italian resistance movement The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...

tribunal discharged Ricci after deciding that his force was simply an internal police. He died on 22 January 1956 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 ...

. He was sentenced to 30 years of imprisonment but was released in 1950 reversed due to a general amnesty. In 1955, he became one of the founders of the neo-Fascist Association of Servicemen of the RSI.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricci, Renato 1896 births 1956 deaths People from Carrara Members of the Grand Council of Fascism Government ministers of Italy Mussolini Cabinet 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 Italian military personnel of World War I People of the Italian Social Republic