Quote:
Originally Posted by Ederico
I meant "state", not "republic".
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Mussolini started as a Republican and ended up Republican, so you were quite right.
About his will to conquer and create a new Roman Empire, what I meant is "I don't think that anyone ever took seriously his pretentions to a new Roman Empire,
not even himself."
Even in his most deluded dreams he knew very well that his Italy, 20th century Italy, was not able to do such a thing. It was a way, as you said, to try to give Italian people this Roman conquering spirit, and also to remind them their great History and, further, their right to "a place in the sun".
His foreign policy and territorial demands were quite inspired by the Roman era though : his will to dominate the Mediterranean sea (
la nostra mare), and to annex all French and British colonies in this area (Egypt, Palestina and Malta; Syria, Tunisia, Eastern Algeria, Corsica and Provence), as well as the Adriatic coastline and Greece. I have even read somewhere that during the Spanish civil war he wanted to set up an Italian protectorate in the Balear islands (and in the Basque country ?). Well, that was probably a bit too ambitious.