Graglia, Giovanni
(2013)
Fascistizing Turin: compromising with tradition and clashing with opposition.
PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
The thesis focuses on the response of the population of the Piedmontese city of Turin to the
rise of Fascism and to the regime’s attempts to fascistize Italian society. Key concepts
discussed in this thesis include regionalism, identity, local myths, forms of individual and group
loyalty, passive resistance, and social mobilization – all factors often mentioned by historians
looking at Turin but that have not yet been subject of a methodical study. This thesis also
contributes to the ongoing historiographical debate on the nature of Fascist power by arguing
that the dictatorship did not manage to fulfill its totalitarian aspirations and that the regime
ultimately remained an authoritarian one. Moreover, this thesis highlights the overlooked
concept of passive resistance and the way in which this limited the local consensus for the
Fascist regime.
In order to offer a discussion of the extent to which Turinese society was fascistized,
this thesis looks at numerous local social groups, at their attitude towards the regime, and at
how the rise of Fascism changed their internal dynamics. The thesis begins with a discussion of
the Turinese press, which works as an introduction to the climate of the city during the Fascist
period and as a study of local media. The focus then shifts to the traditionalist institutions
present in Turin and the way in which these came to terms - or locked horns – with the Fascist
regime: the second chapter deals with the royal family and its Piedmontese origins, the third is
dedicated to the Catholic Church, and the fourth is a case-study of the two expositions (in 1931
and 1933) of the Holy Shroud (a Catholic relic belonging to the royal family). Lastly, the fifth
chapter studies the city’s progressive forces, comparing the ways in which anti-fascist working class and intellectual networks opposed the regime.
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