Fascist Italy is a term used to describe the Kingdom of Italy governed by the National Fascist Party from 1922 to 1943 with Benito Mussolini as prime minister and dictator. The Italian Fascists imposed totalitarian rule and crushed political opposition, while promoting economic modernization, traditional social values and a rapprochement with the Roman Catholic Church.
Roman Catholic procession in Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, Rome, 1931
Mussolini and Vatican delegation prior to signing the Lateran Treaty
Propaganda poster of Mussolini
Mussolini in Milan, 1930
The Kingdom of Italy was a state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 12 June 1946, when the monarchy was abolished, following civil discontent that led to an institutional referendum on 2 June 1946, which resulted in a modern Italian Republic. The kingdom was established through the unification of several states over a decades-long process, called the Risorgimento. That process was influenced by the Savoy-led Kingdom of Sardinia, which can be considered Italy's legal predecessor state.
Notice of the proclamation of the Statuto Albertino in 1848 by King Charles Albert of Sardinia
The Iron Crown of Lombardy, for centuries a symbol of the kings of Italy
Victor Emmanuel II (r. 1861–1878)
Umberto I (r. 1878–1900)
