ABSTRACT
Punitive expeditions – a form of action which characterised fascist violence before the March on Rome – did not end under Mussolini’s government. By focusing on specific case studies (the so-called massacre of Turin in 1922 and ‘St. Bartholomew’s Day’ in 1925 Florence, and the conquest of the countryside village of Molinella in 1925), the chapter shows how violence allowed Fascism to conquer places and minds where anti-fascist ideas and organisation still survived. In such cases, the violence was ruthless, spectacular and unrestrained. According to the fascist way of thinking, it was also necessary. In order to understand the reasons and the political consequences behind these acts of brutal violence, the chapter simultaneously takes into account political and strategic targets, performative effects, and individual and personal motivations. Fascist terrorism shook the Italian people, making any alternative impossible and instilling fear at the deepest and most intimate level, thereby decisively contributing to the fascistisation of Italian society.
