Fascist in Control

The Italian National Fascist Party of the early Twentieth Century was led by Benito Mussolini. It came into power in 1922 when it Marched on Rome, causing the Prime Minister to resign and the King, Vittorio Emanuele III appointed Mussolini the new Prime Minister. The stamps on this album page from 1932 are celebrating the tenth anniversary of that event, of ten years in power. You can see at the top of each stamp is the text, X° Annuale (i.e., 10th Annual).

The draw or ploy of the Fascists was to focus on basic needs and wholesome ways of the public. This can be seen in these stamps. The first one shows a farmer driving an ox and other activities on a farm. At the bottom of the stamp on this one is the text, Perché L’Italia Abbia Pane Per Tutti I Suoi Figli. My translation may be slightly off, but I think it means, Because Italy has bread for all its children – meaning, because of the Fascists have been in power for ten years, there’s food for all Italian children now. The second one says, La vigile scolta della patria e del regime. (i.e., The guard listens to the homeland and the regime. or something like that). Several of them are like this one, depicting police, soldiers, sailors, and others making the country strong under the Fascist regime.

You may also notice that each stamp is framed with fasces on the left and right borders, the symbol of the Fascist party. Almost all stamps with until the middle of the 1940s will have the fasces printed on them, either part of the design or as an overprint. The King becomes less prevalent: just a watermark on the back of a crown.

Note

Here’s another completed album page, with all of the stamps in unused condition. Not only is it nice to look through pages that contain all of the stamps unused, but there’s something psychologically satisfying for me. It’s like that old computer game, Tetris. Many of us have a need to bring order into our lives, if only on the screen of a computer game for a few minutes. In my case, that desire is fulfilled on the pages of stamp albums.

Contains 16 spots: own 16 – 16 unused, 0 used.
Page is finished.
Album or Web Page Last changed Oct 28, 2022

Stamp Details

The table below lists information about the stamps shown on this page of Lighthouse’s stamp album. For more details about a particular stamp, click on its description. That will take you to the related web page of Colnect.

spot

own

catalog

subject

description

comment

Fascists in Power: 10 Years

1.1	✓	325	Agriculture	5c (oct 1932) comm., brown
1.2	✓	326	Fascist Soldier	10c (oct 1932) comm., sepia
2.1	✓	327	Fascist Coastguard	15c (oct 1932) comm., green grey
2.2	✓	328	Italian Youth	20c (oct 1932) comm., red
2.3	✓	329	Tools Forming a Shadow of the Fasces Tools Form Shadow of Fasces	25c (oct 1932) comm., green
3.1	✓	330	Respect for Religion	30c (oct 1932) comm., grown
3.2	✓	331	Expansion of Road Network	35c (oct 1932) comm., sky blue
3.3	✓	332	Equestrian Statue of Mussolini	0.50₤ (oct 1932) comm., purple
4.1	✓	333	Land Reclamation	60c (oct 1932) comm., yellow
4.2	✓	334	Colonial Expansion	75c (oct 1932) comm., red
4.3	✓	335	Shipping	1₤ (oct 1932) comm., black violet
5.1	✓	336	Italians Abroad	1.25₤ (oct 1932) comm., sky blue
5.2	✓	337	Sport	1.75₤ (oct 1932) comm., orange
5.3	✓	338	Child Welfare	2.55₤ (oct 1932) comm., green

Semi-Postal

6.1	✓	339	O.N.D. Recreation	2.75₤ (oct 1932) comm., green
6.2	✓	340	Caesar’s Statue	5+2.50₤ (oct 1932) semi-postal, red

Footnotes

Spot refers to the postion of the stamp on the album page (e.g., 3.2 indicates row 3, position 2).
Amt. is an abbreviation for the face amount of the stamp.
Own indicates the stamp status: ✓ for unused; ✗ for used or canceled; ⭑ signifies I ordered one; ; ✨ indicates it was bought recently; ✠ means an auction bid is pending; and ◎ is used, and it costs too much for unused.
To search by catalog number, go to the search box and enter it in the catalog number box. However, it’s a bit broken; I need to fix it.