LIFE IN FASCIST ROME
Ordinary Lives Under Fascism
Life under fascim facilitated fascist ideals which included strength, power, and military readiness, as well as unity and loyalty to the nation-state and the Partito Nazionale Fascista, or National Fascist Party (PNF). While physical strength and athleticism were key components of a good fascist, a strong mentality and emotional stability were also important. Fascists required a strong sense of statism and nationalism, and regimented uniformity occurred naturally as desired. Mussolini's Rome facilitated the foundation of these characteristics.
The PNF aimed to manipulate culture to resist a bourgeois, aristocratic way of life and to instill fascist ideals into everyday life while building a national consensus. Culture under fascism demonstrates what fascism did for the nation. This can be seen through propaganda and the Cinecittà , a cinema and movie producing studio. Films and information were created and shared to spread fascist ideals to individuals and the community. The Fascist Revolution Exhibition (MUR) allowed for different architects to employ their designs. Leisure activities consisted of bioparco and films focusing on fascist conquests and imperialism.
Society under the regime was instructed to build good, strong fascist citizens with an underlying sense of party loyalty. Emphasis on the Romanità encouraged movement towards Ancient Roman lifestyles and ideals, linking fascism to empirical powers in combination with modern and glorious establishments of Rome.
VIDEO, ABOVE: Mussolini visits an Italian school. Students learn various trades in the school workshop, including carpentry, shoemaking and sewing, while another group works in the fields. The clip concludes with the students' gymnastic exercises and a final fascist salute to the departing Duce.
A Fascist Education
Education and schooling were utilized to build a generation of fascist citizens; fascist ideology and policy were taught from day one, further highlighting the fascist emphasis on youth.
Many varieties of schools were built under Mussolini’s leadership to stress different areas of fascist ideology. Outdoor schools focused on outdoor activities and physical fitness, emphasizing fascist virtues of athleticism and military readiness; vocational and trade schools were established to provide boys with a practical education while steering girls toward domestic projects. Students of both sexes were encouraged to participate in all sports. However, in the classroom boys studied subjects in practical arts while girls studied subjects in domestic arts.
No matter which school students attended, all were required to memorize and recite a pledge of allegiance to Il Duce:
“In the name of God and Italy, I swear to carry out the orders of the Duce and to serve with all my strength and, if necessary, with my blood, the cause of the Fascist Revolution.