Why did Benedetto Croce and Giovanni Gentile end their friendship?

The friendship between Benedetto Croce and Giovanni Gentile ended in 1924 due to a fundamental political disagreement. While the two philosophers had collaborated closely for years—most notably coediting the periodical La Critica from 1903 to 1922—their relationship fractured when Gentile fully embraced fascism and the Fascist Party led by Benito Mussolini.1

This ideological divide proved irreconcilable, as Gentile became a prominent figure in the Fascist government, serving as minister of education and helping to establish the foundations of the Fascist corporate state.1