How did Italian fascism develop?
Mussolini Leading a Parade in RomeBenito Mussolini was a master showman who drew on Rome’s ancient heritage to promote Italian fascism. He wanted a grand avenue to stage triumphal marches with thousands of troops, so he had the Way of the Imperial Forums built through the old city. Here Mussolini rides at the head of a grand parade in 1932 to inaugurate the new road, passing the Roman Coliseum, one of the focal points along the route. (© Stefano Bianchetti/Corbis)
MMUSSOLINI’S FASCIST MOVEMENT and his seizure of power in 1922 were important steps in the rise of dictatorships between the two world wars. Mussolini and his supporters were the first to call themselves “Fascists.” His dictatorship was brutal and theatrical, and it contained elements of both conservative authoritarianism and modern totalitarianism.