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Formation of an Independent Italy
Italy became a sovereign state on March 17, 1861 during the Resurgence which was a political movement that unified the countries of the Italian Peninsula into a single nation of Italy. -
Papal States taken over by new nation of Italy
(September 1870): Italy entered the Papal States and through the backing of the plebiscite held in early October of 1870, annexed the Papal States and Rome to Italy. -
Failure of first Italo-Ethiopian War with the Battle of Adowa (Adwa0
(1895-1896) The Ethiopian Army heavily outnumbered the Italian Army and forced them to retreat back to Eritrea. Some Eritreans were seen as traitors by Ethiopians and were captured and mutilated -
Italy invades and takes over Libya
(1911): Italian troops invaded and took over the Turkish province of Libya, which was part of the Ottoman empire, and started the Italo-Turkish War. -
Mussolini begins work as editor for the Socialist Party newspaper Avanti
(December 1, 1912- October 1914): An Italian daily newspaper which was considered the official voice for the Italian Socialist Party which started being published in December 1896. -
Mussolini kicked out of Socialist Party for pro-nationalistic sentiments regarding WW I
(1914) Mussolini was ultimately kicked out of the party for expressing his support in military intervention in World War One in opposition to the party’s stance on keeping neutrality in the war. -
Treaty of London
(April 26, 1915): An agreement between the United Kingdom, France, and Russia on one part and Italy on the other to entice the latter to enter World War One on the same side at the Triple Entente. -
Beginning of Biennio Rosso
(1919-1920): The two year period of intense social conflict following the First World War. This period was followed by the violent reaction of the fascist black shirt militia -
Fascio di Combattimento formed in Milan
It was an Italian Political organization formed in March 23rd of 1919. The group had mixed views that included radical nationalist ideas, anticlericalism, and republicanism. This group sparked terrorism and they used intimidation against political leftists. This image is significant as it shows the power behind the organization as their logo consists of a waepon to display the power and persistance of the group. The image ireflects the organization because it shows the powerful in the imagery. -
D’Annunzio takes Fiume
on September 12th of 1919, Gabriele D’Annunzio took over the port of Fiume for Italy. This was against the wishes of the Great Powers. There was a lack of military opposition to this decision. This image is significant as it depicts the event itsef. The event itself is significant as it opposed the Great Powers thus, tensions between the nations rose. -
Mussolini forms alliance with Giolitti
In 1921 Mussolini formed an alliance with Giolitti (head of the Italian government). Mussolini did this to secure political power in the government. This alliance was also in hopes to stop the growth of the Italian Socialist party. This photo is significant as it shows Giolitti who was a powerful political figure in Italy. -
Mussolini forms the PNF (Fascist Party) and is elected its leader
On November 9th of 1921, Mussolini was elected to be the leader and to serve in parliament after forming the PNF (Partitio Nazionale Fascista). This image is significant as it displays the logo of the PNF. The PNF is portrayed as patriotic and powerful through the logo as the logo includes Italy's colors and a powerful weapon. The weapon indicates that the PNF is powerful as the image is front and center. -
March on Rome and Mussolini becomes Prime Minister
After the march on Rome from October 28th-30th of 1922, Mussolini was appointed as the Prime Minister of Italy (October 31st 1922). This acted as a steppingstone to power for Mussolini as he passed the Acerbo Law and worked to obtain majority power in Italy. This image is significant as it portrays the march on Rome. The emotions and social tensions caused by this march can been seen through the visual imagery within the picture itself, through the facial expresions of the people. -
Acerbo Law passed
1923, the Acerbo Law was passed. This law consisted of the party with the most votes receiving 2/3 majority in the government. This was to help with Mussolini’s political power overall. The other parties still obtained some power, but Mussolini kept the majority. This is significant as this distribution of power lessened political disputes with the old system equating votes to power, making the government split into many different factions. The photo is a visual representation of 2/3rd vote. . -
Corfu Incident
On August 31st-September 27th of 1923, Italy had a Military-diplomatic crisis with Greece. There were hopes to resolve border disputes between Greece and Albania during the time. This image is significant as it shows some of the boats in the incident, portrayign the many factors that were involved in the incident such as people, boats, and more resources. -
Matteotti Crisis
June 10th of 1924, a political confrontation occurred with the fascist Italian government after the assassination of Matteotti. He was an opponent to Mussolini because he was a socialist leader with power. This image insinutaes Mussolini had involvement with the death of Matteotti through the visual imagery of Mussolini on the coffin as that indicates disrespect and defeat. The image also reflects the power of Mussolini as his giant size indicates power through visual imagery. -
Aventine Secession
withdrawal of parliament opposition from the Italian Chamber of Deputies in 1924-1925 as a result of the murder of deputy Giacomo Matteotti on June 10th,1924 by fascists – these parties included the Italian Socialist Party, Italian Liberal Party, Italian Popular Party, and Italian Communist Party – this was significant in causing there to be less political opposition towards fascism, making it easier to spread fascist ideology and gain support for the fascist party -
Battle for Grain
June 1925: campaign by the fascist regime to create a self-sufficient Italy in wheat production – successful in increasing production of wheat in Italy – decreased reliance on trade – significant in establishing Italy as a major power and expanding to the production of other crops -
Locarno Treaty signed
treaty between Germany, France, Great Britian, Italy, Belgium to establish the borders of Europe nations after WWI, led to peace with Germany and France since Germany agreed to share a border with France – this treaty also solidified the demilitarization of Rhineland – however, this treaty failed in 1936 when Germany sent troops to Rhineland – created false sense of peace between European countries (only until 1930) -
Battle for land and Battle of the Lira
Battle for land (1928): attempt to clear marshes and swamps to create more land available for family – increased agricultural production/created more jobs (beneficial during the depression) - reclaimed land from 1928-38 – Battle of the Lira: economic policy created by the fascist party to fix Italy’s economy by restoring the purchasing power of the lira - imports made cheaper - caused workers to have to accept wage cuts – wages fell more than the price for food – living standards declined -
Battle for Births
due to fear of population decrease leading to fewer workers in factories, Mussolini added many factors encouraging reproduction through propaganda and increased incentives for those who added to the increased birthrate – however, this ended up failing in 1938 -
Kellogg-Briand Treaty signed
nations signed the pact at Paris – US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Austria, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Belgium, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Italy, Japan – agreement to stop the use of war for national policy except for self-defense – effort to keep peace after WWI – however, it failed in 1931 due to Japan invading Manchuria – pact was too flexible and needed definitive legal terms/endorsements -
Lateran Treaty with Pope
between Italy and Vatican – signed by Mussolini and the cardinal secretary of state Pieto Gasparri – gov gave papal sovereignty over Vatican City, papacy recognized the state of Italy and supported Mussolini and the fascist party publicly– introduced the policy of needed the church’s support to have a divorce, the government was given the right to veto those being admitted into church positions – significant in establishing greater support for the fascist party amongst conservatives -
Stresa Front
April 1935: coalition of France, Britain, Italy at Stresa, Italy against Adolf Hitler and his attempts to rearm Germany (though this was against the terms set by the Treaty of Versailles) - they realized they needed to become unified against Germany when Italy invaded Ethiopia – however, this unified group later collapsed (when UK signed the Anglo-German Naval agreement in June – allow Germany to increase navy size) -
Abyssinian Crisis
Resulted from Italy’s attempt to expand their influence in Eritrea by building the Wal Wal fort in Abyssinian territory; naturally, Abyssinian Troops wanted attempted to take back the fort. Mussolini wanted raw materials for the Italian industry as they went into war; chose Abyssinia since it was close to Eritrea which was a part of the Italian Empire. Consequentially, League of Nation’s credibility declined and disrupted Mussolini’s plans. -
Italian involvement with Spanish Civil War
To support the nationalist cause against the second Spanish Republic; brought Germany and Italy closer together through supporting military uprisings in Spain. This Nationalist victory would give Hitler an important ally in his struggle with Britain and France. Mussolini joined to expand fascist influences through bombing Mediterranean cities (Barcelona, Valencia, and more). 30,000 Blackshirts and 20,000 Italian troops fought Spanish. This ended in 1939. -
Rome-Berlin Axis Treaty signed
An Italian-German alliance to unite the two fascist countries together. This coalition was formulated by Italy’s foreign minister, Galeazzo Ciano and FORMULIZED by the Pact of Steel, which was the pact of friendship and alliance between Germany and Italy, militarily and politically. -
Munich Conference
Settlement between Britain, France, Italy, and Germany to permit German annexation Sudetenland, in western Czechoslovakia to Hitler through surrendering, in return for peace. -
Italy invades Albania
Result of a military campaign of Italy versus the Albanian kingdom from the imperialistic policies by Benito Mussolini. The campaign ended on April 12 of the same year after the parliament’s vote to exile King Zog I to untie with Italy ‘in personal union’. -
Italy enters WW II on side of Germany
This military disaster occurred as Italy joined Germany’s side with greed for territorial spoils (defeating British in Africa and the Middle East) as France was about to fall and WW2 seemed began to conclude. Mussolini also believed that an alliance with Germany would make Italy more powerful throughout Europe. However, as the Allied forces entered Italy, many of its citizens stopped supporting the war. -
Mussolini brought down by coup during WW II
Mussolini’s Grand Council voted him out of power due to Italy’s lack of performance, food shortages, and loss of the war. He was also arrested the same day for leaving a meeting with King Vittorio Emanuele. -
Mussolini killed
Executed by an Italian partisan, Walter Audisio of the communist party near the Swiss border in Giulino di Mezzegra of northern Italy during the last days of WW2 in Europe. Mussolini and his mistress were hanged upside down.
