The new Italian state first encountered criminal entities in the mafia mould in circumstances characterised by bitter political struggle between the government, its democratic opposition and pro-Bourbon forces. The charge of being 'mafiosi' was therefore often used as a weapon. However, the mafia was not an invention of the Right. By examining the attempts to counter a phenomenon that seemed uncontrollable and impervious to the new order, and against which the state realised that it lacked the appropriate means to act, we can discern some of the constituent elements of the 'industry of violence', a phrase that Leopoldo Franchetti was to coin only a few years later. This article analyses the early manifestations of a criminal force during the uprisings in early nineteenth-century Sicily, in order to then examine its impact on the institutions of the unified Italian state up to the mid-1870s. Those now in power were discovering unfamiliar situations, with characters who were confident about using violence, and a worrying openness of civil society to its unrestrained use. The authorities responsible for the protection of life and property were ill prepared for confronting this alien associative phenomenon, and were constantly complaining about their isolation and the lack of co-operation from the local population; in the end, they resorted to reaching agreements with organised crime, further damaging trust in the institutions of the newly unified state. L'incontro fra Stato italiano e realt & agrave; criminali di stampo mafioso avviene in un contesto di aspra lotta politica fra Governo, opposizione democratica e filoborbonici. L'accusa di essere mafiosi viene quindi spesso utilizzata in maniera strumentale. Eppure, la mafia non era un'invenzione della Destra. Io credo invece che, attraverso i tentativi di opporsi a una realt & agrave; che appariva incontrollabile e refrattaria ai nuovi ordinamenti, contro la quale ci si accorgeva di non avere adeguati strumenti di intervento, sia possibile cogliere alcuni elementi costituivi di quella che di l & igrave; a poco Leopoldo Franchetti chiamer & agrave; 'industria della violenza'. Il saggio analizza le prime manifestazioni di un potere criminale nei moti rivoluzionari siciliani di primo Ottocento, per concentrarsi poi sull'impatto delle strutture dello Stato unitario fino alla met & agrave; degli anni Settanta. I governanti andavano scoprendo ambienti particolari, figure disinvolte nell'utilizzare la violenza, e una preoccupante disponibilit & agrave; della societ & agrave; civile all'uso spregiudicato di quest'ultima. Le autorit & agrave; preposte alla difesa della vita e delle propriet & agrave; erano impreparate ad affrontare quello strano fenomeno associativo, denunciavano in continuazione il loro isolamento e la non collaborazione dei cittadini, e finirono per scendere a patti con la criminalit & agrave; organizzata, provocando ulteriore discredito sulle istituzioni statali postunitarie.
The article focuses on the evolution of Don Minzoni's martyrdom in the decade between the beginning of the Resistance in Italy and the end of the first legislature. Through an evaluation of archival and printed sources, the analysis shows how the memory of Don Minzoni, a priest killed by the Fascists in August 1923, played a dual role: it functioned as a strategic resource for Democrazia Cristiana (Christian Democracy) and contributed to reshaping Catholic identity in the postwar period. By tracing the evolving representations of Don Minzoni, the article highlights the interplay between continuity and rupture in postwar Italy. It shows how memory, religion and politics intersected in the construction of a democratic order that was not only institutional but also rooted in a Christian moral framework. L'articolo si concentra sull'evoluzione del martirio di don Minzoni nel decennio compreso tra l'inizio della Resistenza in Italia e la fine della prima legislature repubblicana. Attraverso l'analisi di fonti d'archivio e a stampa, la ricerca mostra come la memoria di don Minzoni, sacerdote ucciso dai fascisti nell'agosto del 1923, avesse svolto un duplice ruolo: essa rappresent & ograve; una risorsa strategica per la Democrazia Cristiana (DC) e contribu & igrave; a ridefinire l'identit & agrave; cattolica nel secondo dopoguerra. Ripercorrendo l'evoluzione delle rappresentazioni di don Minzoni, l'articolo mette in luce l'interazione tra continuit & agrave; e rottura nell'Italia del dopoguerra. Il saggio mostra come memoria, religione e politica si siano intrecciate nella costruzione di un ordine democratico che non era solo istituzionale, ma anche radicato nella cornice della morale cristiana.
As part of this Special Issue, we have invited Professor Elena Past (Ohio State) and Professor Niccolò Scaffai (Siena) to discuss current and historical Italian approaches to the Environmental Humanities, as specialists, respectively, in cinema and Italian literature. Their stimulating dialogue offers a broad exploration of national and international cultural influences, political contexts, and the current state of the Italian Studies discipline. The Introduction to this Special Issue has highlighted how the study of the Environmental Humanities encompasses several strands, including ecofeminism (Barca, 2020), environmental history (Armiero, 2021, 2023; Biasillo, 2025), and environmental anthropology (Teti, 2022), to name a few. This Contexts and Debates contribution focuses on literary studies and cinema, and the many intersections they allow.
Abstract This article examines the problem of defining fascism by placing some of the most influential conceptual models in dialogue with the Italian case. It surveys major approaches associated with Juan Linz, Stanley Payne, Roger Griffin, Emilio Gentile and Robert Paxton, arguing that they are best understood not as mutually exclusive alternatives but as analyses conducted at different levels. Building on an earlier formulation of fascism as a political form, the article asks how ideology, violence, political religion, historical process and leadership cohered as a distinctive form of authority. It argues that Italian Fascism made this form visible through three interlocking operations: the political production of the enemy; the mythic reordering of historical time; and the embodiment of sovereign authority in Mussolini, understood not as a Weberian charismatic authority but as a political trickster. The Italian case is therefore more than the first example of generic fascism: it is the historical laboratory in which fascism’s political form first became visible and operative.
