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‘Il nostro Duce’: Mussolini's visit to Trieste in 1938 and the workings of the cult of the Duce1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2016

Paul Baxa
Paul Baxa*
Affiliation:
Ave Maria University, Florida, USA
*
∗Email: paul.baxa@avemaria.edu
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Abstract

On September 18, 1938, Benito Mussolini disembarked in the port city of Trieste to begin a seven-day visit of the Tre Venezie. The tour was in keeping with Mussolini's policy of andare verso il popolo which involved periodic visits to Italy's regions. It was also an opportunity to impose the cult of the Duce on a frontier region which had, since the 1920s, been the site of harsh anti-Slav policies designed to Italianize the Venezia-Giulia region. This article examines the workings of the cult in Trieste where the regime was anxious to demonstrate that it was present in a city that had felt neglected by Rome. Often viewed as a top-down enterprise, this article will explore how the cult of the Duce relied significantly on local dynamics and spaces.

Keywords

cult of the DuceMussoliniregionalismTriesteVenezia Giulia
Type
Research Article
Information
Modern Italy , Volume 18 , Issue 2: Special Issue: The Cult of Mussolini in Twentieth-Century Italy Guest Editors: Christopher Duggan, Stephen Gundle and Giuliana Pieri , May 2013 , pp. 117 - 128
Copyright
Copyright © Association for the study of Modern Italy 

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