New Enemies

The battle for influence: Commemoration of transnational martyrs in the Italian diaspora of the U.S. under fascism

“…In its early stages, the regime enjoyed the tacit (and sometimes explicit) support of the U.S. government and the national press, which praised the industrial and economic development of post-war Italy and Mussolini’s strong leadership. The Italian language press quickly became a mouthpiece for the emerging regime, and enjoyed a wide readership; according to Pernicone (2011: 267) the New York-based dailies Il Progresso Italo-Americano and Il Corriere d’America published 100,000 and 50,000 copies respectively in the early 1920s, and almost 90% of the Italian-American press was Fascist or pro-Fascist during this period. Italian American anti-fascists needed a powerful symbol to counteract the emerging regime’s propaganda, and Matteotti’s death provided just that.…”

“…Though it is unclear why, the increasingly public demonstrations of Fascist support in New York at this time may have made its eventual construction impossible. The year after the initial fundraising, 1927, was a particularly violent year in terms of the Fascist and anti-fascist struggle (Pernicone, 2011: 183). Moreover, that year event organisers invited the Fascist League of North America to participate in the Memorial Day parade.…”

“…The clash created the first Italian American Fascist martyrs. Their bodies lay in state at the local fascio in the Bronx for several days, accompanied by an honour guard (Pernicone, 2011: 385). The pair’s funeral on 4 June included a parade through the streets of New York, accompanied by floral arrangements, one of which spelled out ‘Mussolini’ in white roses (Diggins, 2015: 129), reinforcing links to the Duce and showing the way Fascist martyrs were upheld as spectral leaders to emulate.…”

“…This journey provided a secular and transnational example of traslatio - the Latin term denoting the formal ceremonies held to honour the movement of sacred remains and relics to a significant resting place. Crowds of 150,000 welcomed the ship back to the Pisacane dock on 25 June (Pernicone, 2011: 386). An article in Il Popolo d’Italia (1927c) described the importance of repatriating the bodies of martyrs and typifies the imperialist rhetoric employed in Carisi and Ambrosoli’s commemoration: The fascist homeland has reclaimed the glorious bodies.…”