When we commonly speak of a march on Rome we mean that particular military expedition that took place in the last days of October 1922 with which the fascists moved towards the capital. In fact, the expression March on Rome can refer to a much broader event, in preparation for the final phase which ended on October 28.
The events of October 1922 are known to us only in their main features, but as soon as we try to investigate a very wide complexity emerges of which two central problems can be noted:the role played by the Crown and that of the Government. This situation was very complex, so much so that even today the same institutions, newspapers and parties do not know the proportions, the characters, the overall aims of the movement.
In that period the crisis of the liberal state had definitively manifested itself, starting from the first months of 1922, in fact the two Governments that succeeded each other in 1922, the Government led by Ivanoe Bonomi and those led by Luigi Facta were extremely weak governments based on a heterogeneous majority made up of the Italian Liberal Party, the Italian People's Party, the Italian Social Democratic Party, the Italian Socialist Reformist Party and the Agrarian Party.
The sequence of events is fairly well known; Mussolini prepares the march on Rome, the government responds with a means not uncommon in the history of liberal Italy, proclaiming the state of siege that allows the use of the army. The king initially accepts the choice of the government, but on October 28, when it comes to moving on to the facts, we take back our word and refuse to initiate repressive action by the government. The Prime Minister presents his resignation, following the custom that makes it clear that even in 1920 the sovereign's confidence in the Government was still important, the king immediately accepts. This is in a nutshell what happened in those days, but the developments and implications draw a more complex picture right from the organization of the march on Rome.
Throughout 1922 there had already been what many historians consider to be the dress rehearsals of the anticipations of the march on Rome with the occupation of Bolzano, Trento, Bologna and other smaller centers that reinforced the military-political role of fascism in the country. September 26, 1922 Mussolini went to Cremona amid the enthusiasm of the black shirts; after the usual introductory speech by Farinacci, the leader of fascism spoke:"It is from the banks of the Piave that we started a march that cannot stop until we have reached the supreme goal:Rome". On 24 October there were further tests general with the great concentration of Naples, the now consolidated plan was to first conquer the periphery as it had been on a smaller scale, but this time the goal was the capital. The squads therefore wanted to force the hand of that liberal-moderate monarchist political party, supported by the Confindustria which looked with sympathy to fascism, but which would have granted only a few ministries to fascism in a center-right government. Divided Italy into twelve territories, Mussolini and the quadrunviri left the great demonstration in Naples, all had specific tasks that they had to carry out in a short time between 25 and 27 October; moreover the insurrection plan was established in five times as the historian Renzo De Felice:
1-Occupation of the public offices of the main cities of the Kingdom;
2-Concentration of black shirts in Santa Marinella, Perugia, Tivoli, Monterotondo, Volturno;
3- Ultimatum to the Facta Government for the general transfer of state powers;
4-Entry into Rome and taking possession of the ministries at any cost. In the event of defeat, the fascist militias would have had to fall back towards central Italy, protected by the reserves amassed in Umbria;
5- Constitution of a fascist government in a city in central Italy. Quick rally of the black shirts of the Po Valley and resumption of action on Rome until victory and possession.
In the painful case of a war investment, the Bottai column (Tivoli and Valmontone) will encircle the district of S. Lorenzo entering through Porta Triburtina and Porta Maggiore. The Igliori column with Fara (Monterotondo) will press from Porta Salaria and Porta Pia and the Perrone column (Santa Marinella) from Trastevere.
Starting from October 26, the teams occupied many cities in northern and central Italy, taking possession of strategic centers such as the prefectures and then moving to Rome. The state authorities in the various cities did not have precise provisions on how to counter these initiatives and were too accustomed to letting most of them pass, they succumbed peacefully when they were overwhelmed. The actual action began on the night between 27 and 28 October. Some of the zone commanders gave the instructions through special relay races to the local commanders and others gave them by train.The mobilization order commanded that this take place between 27-28 at night, the time depended on the distance of the various places from the capital of the province. The squadristi had to have the card, food to dry for three days and be in military gear.
The behavior of the king and the government in this situation changed rapidly, in fact, if at the beginning he seemed in favor of the proclamation of the state of siege and gave the impression of urging Facta, in a short time, as Renzo de Felice claims, he refused the signature of the decree. This change is not to be found in a preventive agreement with Mussolini and it can be excluded that the fascists put pressure on the King in the night between 27 and 28 October. he and on whom he trusted enough to influence him, given that the king was only partially in favor of Mussolini:initially his idea was not to sign the state of siege and to give the government to Salandra; it is therefore conceivable that he had accepted only half of the proposed proposal.
Then came the march on Rome with the Sovereign and the Government without a common line and this only created confusion.
Francesco Sunil Sbalchiero
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