The Grand Orient of Italy (GOI) () is an Italian

masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

grand lodge A Grand Lodge, also called Grand Orient, Obedience, or by another similar title, is a name for the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A ...

founded in 1805; the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French statesman and military officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marriage of his mother, Joséphine de Beauharnais, ...

was instrumental in its establishment. It was based at the Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome, Italy from 1901 until 1985 and is now located at the . Its current Grand Master is Stefano Bisi. the Grand Orient had 22,675 members in 842 lodges, a significant growth over the preceding three-year period.

History

The Grand Orient of Italy was founded in 1805, during the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy; the viceroy Eugene of Beauharnais was instrumental in its establishment. Past Grand Masters have included: *

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

, *Adriano Lemmi, 1885–96 *Sculptor

Ettore Ferrari Ettore Ferrari (Rome, 25 March 1845 – Rome, 19 August 1929) was an Italian sculptor and Grand Master Mason. Biography Born in Rome to an artistic family (his father was also a painter), Ferrari was one of the members of the artistic rebirth ...

,Entry "Giuseppe Mazzini" i
Volume III K – P
of ''10,000 Famous Freemasons'', William R. Denslow, 1957, Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., Inc. *

Mayor of Rome The mayor of Rome () is an elected politician who, along with the City Council of Rome, Rome City Council () of 48 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Rome. As Rome is a ''Comune, comune speciale'' since 2009, the office is d ...

Ernesto Nathan Ernesto Nathan (5 October 1848 – 9 April 1921) was an English-Italian politician who was the mayor of Rome from November 1907 to December 1913. Biography Nathan was born in London in 1845 to Sara Levi, an Italian from Pesaro, and Mayer Moses ...

Freemasonry was suppressed by

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...

in 1925, being restarted after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Nevertheless, many people connected with the Italian Fascism were Freemasons: Edmondo Rossoni, Araldo di Crollalanza, Alfredo De Marsico, Peppino Caradonna, Bernardo Barbiellini Amidei, Aldo Finzi, Balbino Giuliano e

Costanzo Ciano Costanzo Ciano, 1st Count of Cortellazzo (; 30 August 1876 – 26 June 1939) was an Italian naval officer and politician. He was the father of Galeazzo Ciano. Biography Early life Born at Livorno, he was the son of Raimondo Ciano and his wife, ...

, father of Galeazzo, Alberto Beneduce, Giacomo Acerbo, Ezio Maria Gray, and Armando Casalini, among others. In 2013, Gustavo Raffi, the then Gran Master of the Grand Orient of Italy, addressed special warm greetings to

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

for his election, signing a new period of reconciliation between Freemasonry and the Roman Catholic Church.

Regularity

Recognition by the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

(UGLE) is a key factor in maintaining the status of a

Regular Masonic jurisdiction In Freemasonry, regularity is one of the factors by which individual Grand Lodges judge whether to recognise one another for the purposes of allowing formal interaction at the Grand Lodge level and visitation by members of other jurisdictions. ...

. The Grand Orient of Italy was once a significant player within international Freemasonry, and in 1972 it was recognised as regular by UGLE.What was the P2 Lodge?
Anti-masonry Frequently Asked Questions
Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon
/ref> However, this recognition was withdrawn in 1993, due to accusations of corruption and

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

involvement. For thirty years, the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy was the only Italian Grand Lodge recognised by UGLE or the other home constitutions of Ireland and Scotland. However, the Grand Orient continued to be recognised by a large majority of the other regular masonic jurisdictions, both in Europe and worldwide. This situation was highly unusual, in that most regular authorities recognised the Grand Orient, but its status was complicated by the lack of recognition from the three most senior jurisdictions, which normally give a lead in terms of international recognition. To further complicate the situation, the United Grand Lodge of England publicly stated that the Grand Orient of Italy was regular in both origins and practices, but that it must (at that time) remain unrecognised due to the issues surrounding alleged corruption. However, this position was rectified in March 2023, when the United Grand Lodge of England agreed to re-recognise the Grand Orient of Italy alongside the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy. UGLE: Recognised Grand Lodges in Europe Propaganda Due, the lodge that investigative journalists have identified as being implicated in the murder of Roberto Calvi, was originally chartered by the Grand Orient, although the Grand Orient revoked its charter in 1974.

List of grand masters

Prior to Gustavo Raffi's grand mastership, two terms of five years was the maximum tenure for a grand master. This, however, was changed during Raffi's time, and his three-term grand mastership which began in 1999 ended in 2014.

References

Bibliography

*Enrico Simoni, ''Bibliografia della Massoneria in Italia'', Foggia, Edizioni Bastogi, 1° volume 1992 (3471 schede), 2° volume 1993 (indici sistematici degli articoli delle Riviste massoniche del dopoguerra; 3762 schede), 1° volume di aggiornamento 1997 (schede da 3472 a 4584), 3° volume 2006 (indici sistematici degli articoli della "Rivista della Massoneria Italiana" e della "Rivista Massonica"; 1870–1926; 6478 schede), 2° volume di aggiornamento 2010 (schede da 4585 a 6648)

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Orient Of Italy 1805 establishments in Italy Freemasonry in Italy

Ital Ital, also spelled I-tal (), is food often celebrated by those in the Rastafari movement. It is compulsory in the Bobo Ashanti and Nyabinghi mansions, though not in the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The word derives from the English word "vital", ...

1805 establishments in the Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)