Benito Mussolini and the politics of Italy in 1932

Benito Mussolini from his Wikipedia

I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately about Italian history in the 1930s to give credence to Portia’s latest case: Principessa.

In addition to exploring the landscape and picking a location (read more in my post on Racconigi castle here) the politics of the time are of key interest. Anyone who knows anything about post-World-War-1 Italy knows that by 1932, politics in the country were all about Benito Mussolini.

The man ruled from 1922 till he was ousted in 1943. “Following the March on Rome in October 1922 he became the 27th Prime Minister of Italy and began using the title Il Duce by 1925, about which time he had established dictatorial authority by both legal and extraordinary means, aspiring to create a totalitarian state.” – Wikipedia

So Il Duce would have been an intrusive part of the Royal family’s life, especially to the King, Victor Emmanuel, who chose to share power with the facist ruler despite having the support of his military.

Mussolini solved something called the ‘Roman Question’ which was a dispute between the Popes and the government of Italy and I’m wondering if the blackmailer in this case could be somehow tied up in this. I need to find out if Victor Emmanuel was involved in trying to solve the Roman Question, and who would benefit from messing with that.

Back into the interwebs I go!

#mystery #research #detective #mussolini #italy #portiaadams #theromanquestion #fiction