Constructing Fascist Identity: Benito Mussolini and the Myth of Romanità

The idea of a heritage from ancient Rome, or romanità, was central to Italian Fascism. This article analyzes Il Duce Mussolini's discourse on romanità in the forty-four volumes of his Opera Omnia, focusing on key themes such as empire, historical characters, and the grandeur of archaeological remains. It links Mussolini's discourse of romanità to his discourse on the future and to the idea of Fascism as a political religion. It shows that Mussolini's historical knowledge was largely overstated and that it was mainly the omnipresence of romanità, rather than its specific features, which can be defined as central to this notion.