ABSTRACT
Therefore, not solely for this reason the occupation of Fiume must be considered a fact of great importance in the history of modern Italy. Federico Chabod calls attention to the fact that the dannunzian expedition was considered by leaders of the just-formed fascist movement a form of trial for the Marcia su Rome. The fiumanism, as a mass movement originated from the Great War and as radical reaction to the socialism and the old Italian liberal class, offered a new political form to the fascist movement. Dino Grandi and Italo Balbo, together with the other archetypes of the fascist movement, envisaged Gabriele D’ Annunzio as the true Duce. They believed that the poet was the spiritual priest of fascism, since he idealized a cultural and political revolution through the construction of a totalitarian State. After the end of the political experience in Fiume, Gabriele D’ Annunzio was contacted a few times by directors of the fascist movement, with the objective of being convinced to assume the position of leader of this movement. Due to his status as a national hero, bestowed with five silver and a golden medals during the Great War, the poet was considered the most qualified person to lead the movement. Only when he resigned to this position Benito Mussolini was able to assume as the only fascist Duce.
