(, "living space") was the territorial

expansionist Expansionism refers to states obtaining greater territory through military empire-building or colonialism. In the classical age of conquest moral justification for territorial expansion at the direct expense of another established polity (who ...

concept of Italian Fascism. It was defined in universal terms as "that part of the globe over which extends either the vital requirements or expansionary impetus of a state with strong unitary organization which seeks to satisfy its needs by expanding beyond its national boundaries". Spazio vitale was analogous to

Nazi Germany's 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 ...

concept of ''

Lebensraum (, ''living space'') is a German concept of settler colonialism, the philosophy and policies of which were common to German politics from the 1890s to the 1940s. First popularized around 1901, '' lso in:' became a geopolitical goal of Imper ...

''. The territorial extent of the Italian ''spazio vitale'' was to cover the Mediterranean as a whole ('' Mare Nostrum'') and Northern Africa from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

. It was to be divided into ''piccolo spazio'' ("small space"), which was to be inhabited only by Italians, and ''grande spazio'' ("large space") inhabited by other nations to be under the Italian sphere of influence. The nations in the ''grande spazio'' would be subjected to Italian rule and protection, but were to keep their own languages and cultures. Fascist ideologist Giuseppe Bottai likened this historic mission to the deeds of the

ancient Romans In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...

, stating that the new Italians will "illuminate the world with their art, educate it with their knowledge, and give robust structure to their new territories with their administrative technique and ability".

Ideological characteristics

In the political philosophy of Italian Fascism, the concept of ''spazio vitale'', which justified the colonial expansion of Italy, corresponded to the ''

'' concept of the

Nazis 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 N ...

in Germany. Yet, the colonial

imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic powe ...

inherent to the ''spazio vitale'' proposed by

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 ...

did not involve the

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...

of the subjugated nations, but presented the Italian race as a custodian and bearer of superior civilization. As such, the ideological purpose of ''spazio vitale'' included the exportation of revolutionary fascism to replace the native political systems in order to civilise the conquered peoples into

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

of Fascist Italy. The Fascist ideologist Giuseppe Bottai said that the historic mission of ''spazio vitale'' was like that of

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

(753 BC – AD 476), and that the New Rome—the

Italian Empire The Italian colonial empire ( it, Impero coloniale italiano), known as the Italian Empire (''Impero Italiano'') between 1936 and 1943, began in Africa in the 19th century and comprised the colonies, protectorates, concessions and dependenci ...

—would "illuminate the world with their art, educate it with their knowledge, and give robust structure to their new territories with their administrative technique and ability." Once under Roman hegemonic rule, the subjugated peoples would be permitted to retain their native languages and cultures within the Italian Empire. The Fascist regime declared that the achievement of Italy's ''spazio vitale'' would be divided into three stages: short-term, medium-term, and long-term. The schedule for its achievement was accelerated due to the outbreak 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 ...

In Europe

In Europe, Italy's ''spazio vitale'' was to include southeastern Europe. Italy's short-term plans involved the expansion of its ''grande spazio'' in southeastern Europe that was to include several nations. In 1941, Italy defined these plans.

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

and

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

were valuable to Italy because of their timber reserves, cattle herds, and their rich deposits of carbon, lignite, iron, copper, chrome, manganese, pyrites, antimony, and mercury.

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

, upon being territorially "reduced to its effective proportions", would be within the ''spazio vitale'' of its mineral wealth, and in particular its copper deposits in Bor.

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

was to be incorporated into the ''spazio vitale'' in the Mediterranean once it had acquired its "rightful" outlet to the Aegean Sea, and would be a major trading partner with Italy due to its rapeseed and soya production, wine production, and chrome deposits.

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

was to be included, whereupon Italy would assist in developing Greece's natural resources and develop a steel industry that had not been achieved; Greece would benefit from trade with Italy, and Italy in turn would gain access to these resources.

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

was of interest to be included because of its river harbours, tourism, large-scale production of agricultural machinery, electrical goods, pharmaceuticals, and timber.

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

was a target of Italy's ambitions that was included in plans promoted by Mussolini and Italy's Chief of the General Staff Alberto Pariani.Neville Wylie. ''European Neutrals and Non-Belligerents During the Second World War''. Cambridge University Press, 2002. P134-135. In 1939, Pariani stated that Italian-supported military intervention in Romania would result in Romania ceding

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

to Hungary and

southern Dobrudja Southern Dobruja, South Dobruja or Quadrilateral ( Bulgarian: Южна Добруджа, ''Yuzhna Dobrudzha'' or simply Добруджа, ''Dobrudzha''; ro, Dobrogea de Sud, or ) is an area of northeastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silistr ...

to Bulgaria. Pariani in discussion with Hungarian officials repeated Mussolini's arguments that the Italian Army could militarily intervene against Yugoslavia and cross over its territory to seize Romania's oilfields and prevent a Soviet advance into the Balkans.

In Africa

In Africa, the ''spazio vitale'' was to include large territories in North and East Africa. Regarding modern-day Italy as the heir to the Roman Empire, the Fascist regime utilized the precedent of historical Roman control of these territories to make land claims in North Africa. North Africa's coastline was regarded as of strategic importance to the Fascists' ambition of ''Mare Nostrum'' to allow Italy to dominate and control the Mediterranean Sea. The Fascist regime emphasized the strategic importance of political and economic connection of Europe with Africa, and at times referred to the two continents in unison as "Eurafrica". As part of this position, the regime produced maps displaying hypothetical rail lines and hydroelectric grids extending from Africa to Italy through the Italian colony of Libya as proposals to more closely integrate Italy's African possessions with Italy itself.

Art

The intense feeling of ''spazio vitale'' was echoed through artistic movements such as

Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects suc ...

headed by the Italian poet Filippo Tomaso Marinetti. It emphasised speed, technology, youth, and violence, and objects such as the car, the aeroplane, and the industrial city. It glorified modernity and aimed to liberate Italy from the weight of its past. It was largely a nationalistic movement and had flashy romantic visions of war and expansion thanks to the creation of new technology.

References

{{Italian colonial empire Italian Fascism Axis powers Imperialism

Ideological characteristics

In Europe

In Africa

Art

See also

References