Description:

Mussolini Benito

Mussolini, Il Duce, pens to Volpe offering a copy of Gerarchia

 

Single page ALS on page with a thick black border, with Il Capo Del Governo letterhead (The Head of Government) , 8" x 10.5", dated "4 January 1926". The letter is boldly and lavishly written and signed by Benito Mussolini as "Mussolini".  Penned on recto with verso blank,  with tiny hole along top left side as typically found with his letters. Near fine.


Accompanied by a full English translation of the letter.

 

A fantastic boldly scripted letter entirely in the hand of Benito Mussolini, which states in full:


"Dear Volpi

Two copies of Gerarchia, one for you and the other for Tenax, known in ordinary life as De Bellis, general accountant (Ragioniere Generale) of the state

Cordially,

Mussolini

Rome 2 May 1926"

 

A somewhat amusing ALS entirely in Mussolini's hand, written to Giuseppe Volpi, (who at the time was Italy's Minister of Finance) informally introducing him to Tenax who at the time was De Bellis, general account of the State. His letter noted that he had enclosed two copies of Gerarchia, a magazine founded in 1922 by Mussolini and was the unofficial organ of the regime at the at time and instrumental in making Italy a totalitarian state.

 

Volpi had successfully negotiated Italy's WWI debt repayment with the United States . During Mussolini's reign, aside from his political agenda, he had managed to build a financial empire. In the 1920's  Mussolini had already been receiving financial support from a few wealthy admirers, and that support increased substantially, mainly from industrialists and landowners. During the era of this letter, Mussolini abandoned his leftist programs. He abandoned his stands against the Church, which he realized had not helped his movement. He faced accusations of being a tool of the capitalists. Mussolini's financial games later came to light when it was discovered that Mussolini was known to have paid the Vatican large sums of cash in return for papal recognition of the Italian fascist regime in the late 1920's-so much so that a disguised offshore company structure was created on behalf of the church. The Mussolini money was dramatically important to the Vatican's finances.  John Pollard, a Cambridge historian, says in Money and the Rise of the Modern Papacy: "The papacy was now financially secure. It would never be poor again." By today's recent estimates the value of Mussolini's nest egg has mounted until it now exceeds £600m (about $1 billion dollars) and consists of Vatican investments in high-end real estate in Paris, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The surprising aspect for some will be the lengths to which the Vatican has gone to preserve secrecy about the Mussolini millions, perhaps to avoid criticism.


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