Kingdom of Italy

The Kingdom of Italy (1922-1961) was a short-lived, yet powerful nation established from the remains of the Kingdom of Naples. It was founded and ended by Benito Mussolini.

Following the unification of Italy in 1922, Mussolini declared King Alfonso a traitor to the Kingdom of Naples, and with the Blackshirts rallied close to his side, used his powers as prime minister to overthrow King Alfonso, declaring himself in a state of emergency the new king. However, a week into his reign he dissolved the monarchy and declared himself the Duce. On October 6, 1922, Mussolini convened the Grand Council of Fascism, a group of his advisors and cabinet members.

The first declaration Mussolini made in 1922 was that the Kingdom of Naples to be abolished, its former leaders and officials integrated into the new national party, the Partito Nazionale Fascista, and the establishment of a new Fascist State to replace the old Kingdom, deciding to take the name of the Kingdom of Italy. The Kingdom of Italy would only be a kingdom by name, choosing this name to appeal to the other Italian states, and to attempt to further show a justified claim over Naples towards a majority monarchist Europe.

In 1923, Mussolini and King Giovanni Gentile met in Naples to sign the Pact of Naples, which outlined the premise for a strong alliance, defensive pact, and military cooperation. In 1925 when the Kingdom of Sicily invaded Egypt, Mussolini had sent a 30,000 man expedition to land and take Suez. While initially the war went very well, the Egyptians managed to beat back the Italian army to Suez, forcing the army to regroup in Sicily. The war ended before the expeditionary force was able to re-invade. 

In 1935, in a response to the brutal slavery and persecution of Catholics by the Ethiopian regime, Mussolini with the blessing of the Pope declared war on Ethiopia. Papal State commander, Rodolfo Graziani was put under the command of the Italian government to lead the army during the invasion. Landing at Eritrea and Somaliland, the Italian forces quickly steamrolled the African army. In 1936, Addis Ababa was taken, and Halle Selassie was deposed. A puppet government led by Italian MVSN commander, Ruggero Santini was established as the Africa Orientale Italiana, which continues to exist under the Papal States today.

The peace would not last long, as 4 years later the Kingdom of Italy by request of the Pope and the Holy Roman Empire would be dragged into fighting the NSDAP. Thousands of Italian soldiers were sent to Austria to fight against Hitler’s revolution. When World War II was concluded, the Kingdom of Italy, which had been devastated finiancially and had lost nearly half a million in the war, declared a stance of neutrality in all future wars.

Post war Italy saw a slow rebuild and modernization of the nation. In 1961, 3 years after Pope Francis’ election to the pontificate, Mussolini and the new Pope met at the Vatican to discuss an integration of the Kingdom of Italy into the Papal States. Mussolini who had been tired of ruling by this point, agreed and stepped down from reign, granting Pope Francis the authority of the Duce, ending the Kingdom of Italy.

The Partito Nazionale Fascista for several years would fight against the Pope after the treaty, attempting to restore fascist rule. Their efforts resulted in a massive massacre in Bologna, with 320 innocent people killed in a violent uprising. Pope Francis authorized a state of emergency and deployed the army to fight the PNF, crushing their movement. In recent years, Mussolini, who was still alive through sea sponge injections, officially condemned the movement and stated if he was not loyal to the Pope and the Church, he would have never accepted the treaty.

But in a recent interview, Mussolini admitted to wishing for a return to fascism, and in recent years he had realized how insane the Pope had gotten. He then made a shocking statement, that the treaty was forced and he never wanted to abdicate his power to the Pope, but did so facing the threat of excommunication and war.