How did fascist groups take control of Milan’s town hall in 1922?

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People walk and shop inside the ornate Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy, with its glass-domed roof, decorative mosaics, and luxury store entrances. — Milan Shoppers in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan.

In August 1922, fascist groups took control of Milan’s town hall through the direct action of black-shirted squads. These paramilitary forces occupied the building, an act that effectively ended local democracy in the city.1

This event was part of a broader pattern of fascist activity across Italy during the early 1920s, where squads frequently used systematic violence to dismantle socialist and Catholic labor organizations, cooperatives, and local councils. While the fascist movement did not win over the Milanese working classes, it maintained significant support among the city’s administrative, commercial, and business sectors. This occupation served as a precursor to the national rise of the Fascist Party, which culminated in the March on Rome later that same year.231