fasci di combattimento

Italian political organization

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June 26, 2026

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The Fasci di combattimento, or "combat groups," were an Italian political organization founded by Benito Mussolini in 1919. The word fascio in Italian means "bundle" or "group." While the organization is strongly associated with the term "fascism," the word fascista (plural fascisti) was already in political use before the formation of the Fasci di combattimento. The symbol of the fasces, a bundle of rods with an ax, was used by the group to represent unity and obedience to the state. This organization eventually seized power in Italy, leading to the widespread adoption of the terms "fascism" and "fascist".12

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Fascist Party
Formation and rise to power
Mussolini called this force the fasci di combattimento (“fighting bands”), groups of fighters bound together by ties as close as those that secured the fasces of the lictors—the symbols of ancient Roman authority.
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Mussolini called this force the fasci di combattimento (“fighting bands”), groups of fighters bound together by ties as close as those that secured the fasces of the lictors—the symbols of ancient Roman authority.
Read More

Italy
The rise of Mussolini
…even more prominent, founding his fasci di combattimento (“fighting leagues”), better known as Fascists, in Milan in March 1919. The group’s first program was a mishmash of radical nationalist ideas, with strong doses of anticlericalism and republicanism. Proposals included the confiscation of war profits, the eight-hour day, and the vote…
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…even more prominent, founding his fasci di combattimento (“fighting leagues”), better known as Fascists, in Milan in March 1919. The group’s first program was a mishmash of radical nationalist ideas, with strong doses of anticlericalism and republicanism. Proposals included the confiscation of war profits, the eight-hour day, and the vote…
Read More

Benito Mussolini
Rise to power of Benito Mussolini
Mussolini called this force the fasci di combattimento (“fighting bands”), groups of fighters bound together by ties as close as those that secured the fasces of the lictors—the symbols of ancient Roman authority. So fascism was created and its symbol devised.
Read More
Mussolini called this force the fasci di combattimento (“fighting bands”), groups of fighters bound together by ties as close as those that secured the fasces of the lictors—the symbols of ancient Roman authority. So fascism was created and its symbol devised.
Read More