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Formation of an independent Italy
The Risorgimento movement “resurgence" ultimately established an independent Italy with nationalistic unification. This picture is a good choice because it shows the progression of the boundaries of Italy from 1859 to the unification in 1861. -
Papal States taken over by new nation of Italy
Italians entered the Papal States and then annexed the Papal States and Rome to the Kingdom of Italy. This picture is a good choice because it demonstrates the changes in italy from 1860 to 1870. -
Failure of First Italo-Ethiopian War with the Battle of Adowa (Adwa)
Ethiopians surrounded the Italians for two weeks and cut off the fort's water supply forcing Italy to surrender and sign the Treaty of Addis Ababa, recognizing Ethiopia as an independent state. This picture is a good choice because it is an Ethiopian painting depicting the Battle of Adwa. -
Italy invades and takes over Libya
Italian troops invaded the Turkish province of Libya and started the Italo-Turkish War thus creating Italian Tripolitania and Italian Cyrenaica, later being unified in the colony of Italian Libya. This picture is a good choice because it shows Omar after his arrest by the fascists -
Mussolini begins work as editor for the Socialist Party newspaper Avanti
After Mussolini was released from prison for his anti-war activism, he began editing a Socialist newspaper which was “ a great service to the French government” because of its push for war. This picture is a good choice because it shows the pro-war aspect of the Avanti! Paper with “Abbasso la guerra” meaning “Down with war” -
Mussolini kicked out of Socialist Party for pro-nationalistic sentiments regarding WW I
Mussolini began advocating for military intervention in World War I, in opposition to the party's stance on neutrality, leading him to be kicked out and to eventually make a new paper. This picture is a good choice because it shows a headline covering the event of Mussolini being kicked out. -
Treaty of London
Italy signed the Treaty of London and promised to join the war on the side of the Triple Entente. This picture is a good choice because it shows the territories promised to Italy by the Entente by going into the war. -
Beginning of Biennio Rosso
Between 1919 and 1920 the ‘two red years where Unemployment rose to over 2 million and intense social conflict in Italy, following the First World War swept across Italy This picture is a good choice because it demonstrated the factories manned by the Red Guards in 1920. -
Fascio di Combattimento formed in Milan
Organization of early fascists formed by Mussolini, desired the fall of crowns, and supported socialism. This picture was chosen as it was a representative of the organization and the symbol has many similarities to the fascism symbol, showing how this had an influence with the development of fascism. -
D'Annunzio takes Fiume
Yugoslavia and Italy fought over control of Adriatic Port of Fiume. First given to Yugoslavia by the Treaty of London then to Italy by the Paris Peace Conference. Gabriele D’Annunzio took men in Fiume and named himself commandant of the Reggenza Italiana del Carnaro. The Treaty of Rapallo took him out. This picture was chosen as it shows the close geographical reference between Italy and Yugoslavakia, which the tension between the two after WWI would be heightened by and easily land accessible. -
Mussolini forms alliance with Giolitti
may 1921 As Giolitti Prime minister at the time, Mussolini aimed to gain connections with him to have ties to higher powers. Although Giolitti deemed facism as a firework that would soon burn out, he also had ties with socialist Germany. This picture was chosen as it shows the close relevance in time between Giolitti and Mussolini regarding their ruling as prime minister, therefore the political and social atmosphere was relatively similar when it came to the state of Italy they had to control. -
Mussolini forms the PNF (facist party) and is elected its leader
Creating the party allowed Mussolini to gain power with a new position in parliament and granted 35 seats for the fascist party. Initiated addiction to power and strive. This picture was chosen as it was the headquarters of the Italian facist party, a symbolic representative as well as shows the extent the party had grown at the time and its pursue to influence the public by putting it in a central location. -
March on Rome and Mussolini becomes Prime Minister
Offered the position by the king, Mussolini accepted and became prime minister of Italy following a want for more government organization/power with the fear of the political march on Rome. This picture was chosen as to represent an outside perspective of the governmental moves of Italy once Mussolini became prime minister and how different countries didn’t want Mussolini to take over/how they viewed fascism. -
Acerbo Law
July 1923 A reform to the electoral system by Mussolini in hope to strengthen his power. Gave party who won ⅔ seats in parliament. Intended to give fascists total control over Italian government. This picture was chosen to show in Italy’s 1924 election, the comparison of the fascists seats after the Acerbo law compared to the seats other parties were given to give significance to how much the Acerbo Law gave advantage to Mussolini in the election. -
Corfu Incident
Aug 29 - Sep 27 1923 Mussolini order marines to storm the Greek island of Corfu after Greece refused to pay the compensation Mussolini was demanding following the murder of an Italian general on Greek terriotry. This picture was chosen as it shows the relation geographically among Italy and the Greek Island of Corfu, to give significance to the extent Mussolini went to serve justice. -
Aventine Secession
A rival parliamentary was set up by the opposition in the Chamber of Italian Deputies, ultimately advocating to be democratic representatives of Italy. The purpose of this was to put Mussolini out of power by pressuring the king. This photo was chosen to represent the initial cause of this anger, being the death of Giamaco Matteoti due to Mussolini’s apparent connections with the socialist’s death. -
Matteotti Crisis
Giacomo Matteotti, a socialist who claimed the 1924 election as fraud and condemned the violence, was abducted and killed, body found Aug 18. Mussolini arrested Amerigo Dumini and gang for suspected involvement to please the public and halt suspected downfall
This picture was chose as it shows the source of the crisis, hadn’t he shared his opinions on the election, it wouldn’t have happened in the same fashion, Mussolini would potentially downfall without the opportunity to please the public -
Battle for Grain
This was Mussolini’s attempt to increase grain imports due to poor harvest by growing wheat, better land, and better technology; however, this led to a poor distribution of resources, ultimately having a negative impact on the country economically. This photo represents the struggle to increase the goals of achieving more grain and how this negatively impacted the community rather than benefit it. -
Locarno Treaty signed
The Locarno Treaty’s primary goal was to secure peace after WWI to ensure that another similar war would not happen as a result. A main component included securing the borders of Europe. This photo illustrates the various significant representatives during the Locarno negotiations, including Gustav Stresemann, Austen Chamberlain and Aristide Briand. -
Battle for Land and Battle for the Lira
Battle for Land's goal was to increase amounts of farmland by establishing more small farms and creating more jobs. Battle for the Lira goal was to restore the value of currency by re-valuing the lira. Both did not have positive long term effects as Battle for Land only reclaimed the Pontine Marshes & Battle for the Lira led to declined exports. This image illustrates Mussolini around supporters, depicting the high expectations of the people as many hoped to benefit from his policies. -
Battle for Births
The Battle for Births was intended to increase the roles of women as mothers to expand the Italian empire and a better army for the future. People were rewarded by maternity benefits and less employment for women. This photo depicts Mussolini's family under these terms, demonstrating a clear example of the encouragement of bigger families for an increased population in Italy. -
Kellogg-Briand Treaty signed
The Kellogg-Briand Treaty had the purpose to outlaw war to wipe out any possibilities of another World War; however, it was proved to be ineffective. This image depicts the signing of the treaty by the U.S. president at the time, illustrating one of the many leaders in the participating nations that agreed to this outlaw of war. -
Lateran Treaty with Pope
The Lateran Treaty had the primary goal of gaining religious support for Mussolini. This was accomplished by allowing Roman Catholicism to be the official religion of Italy as well as limiting the freedoms of people, including issues with divorce. This photo depicts the Italian cardinal as well as Mussolini signing this treaty into existence. -
Abyssinian Crisis
The Abyssinian Crisis was an international crisis that began as a result of a conflict between Italy and Ethiopia (known as Abyssinia) and lasted up until 1937. In order to put an end to this crisis, the League of Nations imposed economic sanctions on Italy, but was not taken seriously. The photo represents the areas in which Italian forces attacked Abyssinia during the Abyssinian Crisis in 1935. -
Stresa Front
The Stresa Front was an agreement by France, Britain, and Italy in order to ensure the validity of the Locarno Treaties, the independence of Austria, and the stop of any attempt of Germany altering the Treaty of Versailles. This image represents the building in which the major leaders of France, Britain, and Italy came together to agree and reaffirm these goals. -
Italian involvement with Spanish Civil War
Italy became involved with the Spanish Civil war in 1936 to 1939 as support for the nationalist cause in Spain. Mussolini’s main objective was to secure Facist control of the Mediterranean. Meaning, “The claw of the Italian invader intends to enslave us,” this propaganda poster shows the reaction of those in Spain who opposed Italy’s involvement in the Spanish war was negative. -
Rome-Berlin Axis Treaty signed
The Rome-Berlin Axis Treaty was a military alliance with Italy and Germany where it was created by Galeazzo Ciano, Italy’s foreign minister, united the two nations together. The photo demonstrates the neutral relationship between Italy and Germany during the time where each nation’s leaders are seen to be shaking hands. -
Munich Conference
On Sep 29, 1938, the Munich Conference was an agreement that allowed Sudetenland’s annexation from Germany which was signed between Germany, Italy, France, and Great Britain. This photo shows the leaders from the nations involved with the signing of the Munich Conference on Sep 29, 1938. -
Italy invades Albania
Italy’s successful invasion of Albania started on April 7, 1939 to April 11 where Italy’s forces attacked the Albanian Kingdom due to Mussolini’s desire to spread his imperialist goals. This photo shows many armed Italian soldiers arriving in Albania during Italy’s invasion which shows a fraction of how many men came in support of Mussolini’s rule. -
Italy enters WWII on side of Germany
Mussolini declared war on France and Great Britain on the side of Germany during WWII on July 10, 1944. As a result, the Italian campaign, led by the Allied Forces, invaded Italy and was followed by many casualties on both sides. This photo shows a news article made during the time Mussolini declared war on France and Great Britain. The header shows that Great Britain has already taken action. -
Mussolini brought down by coup during WWII
The fall of the Fascist regime in Italy was July 24, 1943 where a new form of government was created during the Grand Council of Fascism, putting an end to Fascism in Italy. This photo shows the people of Italy celebrating the end of Mussolini’s rule and the Facism government overall. It marked a new form of independence for Italians. -
Mussolini killed
Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, were shot and killed on April 28, 1945 by an Italian partisan in a small village in Northern Italy. This photo is Mussolini in his casket with some memorabilia of light of the things he did while he was alive.