Italo Balbo was an Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Italian Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa. Due to his young age, he was sometimes seen as a possible successor to dictator Benito Mussolini.
Italo Balbo
Italo Balbo (center) during World War I in 1918
Balbo (left) and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini
Poster for Italo Balbo's transatlantic flight to the Century of Progress in Chicago
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