ABSTRACT
A key element of the coercive and repressive system practiced by the fascist regime was the deportation of its rivals, starting from 1926, enacted through their confinement on small islands or in isolated and destitute locations. The regulations’ linguistic vagueness, coupled with the procedural simplicity, rendered police confinement the instrument of political repression most frequently adopted by the fascist regime. The risk of deportation did not pertain only to active anti-fascists or broad opponents of the regime. Confinement to the islands especially affected those who were considered the most dangerous opponents of the Fascist regime. Among all the islands reserved to confinement, Lipari was certainly the most liveable, both because its sizable dimensions encouraged relationships between the confinees and the inhabitants, and because, in greater measure than elsewhere, in Lipari the confinees were allowed to live in private homes, together with their families or friends.
