A Quote from Mussolini's First Speech as Prime Minister

Mussolini, in a much later image.

"The Italian Fatherland has found herself again, from the north to the south, from the mainland to those generous islands which shall no more be forgotten, from the metropolis of Rome to the industrious colonies of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Gentlemen, do not throw useless words at the Nation; fifty-two requests to speak on my lists is too much. Let us work, rather, with pure hearts and ready minds to assure the prosperity and the greatness of the Fatherland."

- From Mussolini's first speech to the Cabinet, 16 Nov. 1922

Before the Night of the Long Knives

"National-Socialism is a revolt of the old German tribes of the primeval forest against the Latin civilization of Rome." 

- Mussolini, aghast at the Röhm purge

"All revolutions devour their own children."

- Röhm, from Vergniaud, to Hans Frank 

Remark from Codreanu on the Decline of Romania

"Romania is dying because of a lack of men, not a lack of programs."

- Corneliu Codreanu, "For My Legionaries"

Remark from Henry Channon on Franco's Victory

"Franco advances - victory is clearly his. He has been so misunderstood, so misrepresented in this country that to champion him, and I have done, is dangerous from a Constituency point of view."

- Henry Channon, British politician, March 1938

 

Remark from Ferenc Szálasi on the Enemy Within

"The enemy within are always more cruel, more vicious, more hateful and more bloodthirsty than an outside enemy. The enemy within is not open about its intentions and hides it real face using religion, nationalism, friendship, patriotism, just to reach its goals. The outer enemy is always open about its intentions." 

- Ferenc Szálasi, leader of the Arrow Cross of Hungary

The Tremors of Fiume and the Shadow of D'Annunzio

"Perhaps the most eloquent tribute that could be paid him was the great respect and fear demonstrated by Mussolini in the years following the Fiume adventure... Everyone from Mussolini to Premier Franceso Saverio Nitti realized that D'Annunzio could have led a successful march on Rome during his reign at Fiume..."

- Michael A. Ledeen, 'The First Duce'

Roses May Bloom from the Blood

"I drink to the roses which will flower from the blood." 

- Gabriele D'Annunzio, at a gathering in Venice in 1895

Gabriele D'Annunzio in a speech to soldiers in 1915

A Remark from Mussolini on D'Annunzio's Fiume

Under the Fiume standard: Soldiers of D'Annunzio's Fiume.

"We don't know what Nitti's government is thinking. All we can say is that, if necessary, thousands of volunteers - the best of Italy's youth - will be with D'Annunzio."

- Mussolini's "Long Live Fiume!," in Il Popolo d'Italia

From "Fiume Under D'Annunzio" in MacLean's Magazine

"It is a great mistake to underrate D’Annunzio. This mari is a real force, not only by what he has been in the past, but by what he is, and stands for, to-day. No one did more to bring Italy into the war, and some of his speeches then, like his Fiume orations now, will endure as long as the Italian language. He fought on land, at sea, and in the air. He was severely wounded, and even after the loss of his right eye he remained in the fight. He has always dreamed of a greater Italy, supreme in the Adriatic and extending its influence over the Balkans. He is quite sure that Italy has been robbed of the spoils of victory by the “ingratitude and egotism” of the Allies, and he is just as ready to give his life now for what he believes to be his country’s due as he was to die for her in battle."

- from "Fiume Under D'Annunzio" in MacLean's Magazine, 1 Dec. 1920

Mention of D'Annunzio in Bordiga's 1922 "Report on Fascism" to the Fourth Congress of the Comintern

The proclamation of the Italian Regency of Carnaro by D'Annunzio at the

Palace of the Regency on 12 September, 1920; coat of arms on display.

In this 1922 "Report on Fascism" to the Communist International, Amadeo Bordiga claims that D'Annunzio's seizure of Fiume was vital to empowering fascism:

At the most critical moment, the fascist movement gained strength from D'Annunzio’s expedition to Fiume, which endowed it with a certain moral authority. Although D'Annunzio’s movement was distinct from fascism, that event led to the rise of its organisation and armed strength.

Later in the article, Bordiga also makes this reference:

Consider for example the D'Annunzio movement, which was linked to fascism, and nonetheless made the attempt to win the support of proletarian organisations on the basis of a programme derived from the Fiume constitution that was supposedly based on proletarian or even socialist principles.

The following is Bordiga's footnote to the first reference, in a prior version of the article to which I originally linked (at present [11 July 2026], I cannot find): 

Possession of the city of Fiume, on the northern Adriatic, had been disputed at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference by Italy and newly constituted Yugoslavia. While negotiations continued, in September 1919, an Italian nationalist militia detachment led by D'Annunzio seized the city. Fiume retained de facto independence until 1924, when the territory was divided between Italy and Yugoslavia.

Mussolini on the Question of Fiume

"The speech of the crown did not take a clear position against the subversive forces which were menacing nothing less than our whole national unity. It forgot the question of Fiume - a torch which held out a flame for our national spirit."

- Mussolini, 'My Autobiography'

Image: Mussolini visiting D'Annunzio in 1925

Last Lines of the Codex Fori Mussolini

"It stands at the very entrance of the Foro Mussolini and it will immortalize for eternity the fortunes of the fatherland, restored by the Leader, the excellent and unconquered spirit of the Leader regarding the fatherland, the immovable loyalty of the citizens to the Leader, and the outstanding achievements of Fascism." 

- Codex Fori Mussolini, 27 Oct. 1932, inscribed by Aurelio Giuseppe Amatucci 

Image: Monolithic obelisk at the Foro Mussolini. The Codex Fori Mussolini was hidden at its base, and only recently recovered.