The Legacy of Fascist Italy. Historian’s Changing Views, and New Controversies 1945-Present

The fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was one of the most admired figures of his age.
Winston Churchill called him “the Roman genius”, Pope Pius XI said he was “sent by providence” to save Italy, and Franklin Roosevelt referred to him as “that distinguished Italian gentleman”. The American ambassador to Rome, Washburn Child, wrote that he was “the greatest figure of his sphere and time.” During the first 10 years of his rule, he had won a prestige which raised the international status of Italy to a position it had never held before, and won worldwide respect for his person. Professor Leonini of St. John University will discuss this controversial chapter of Italian history. Find out what new research, new interpretations, and theories since the end of World War II have emerged allowing us to take yet another look at Fascism and Mussolini.