Racism in Italy
Encyclopedia
Fascist Italy
Racism developed in 1938, during a period of increased alliance with Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
culminating in the Pact of Steel
Pact of Steel
The Pact of Steel , known formally as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy, was an agreement between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany signed on May 22, 1939, by the foreign ministers of each country and witnessed by Count Galeazzo Ciano for Italy and Joachim von Ribbentrop...
. The issue of racism in Fascist Italy before this is debated, although some Fascists held racial views before the alliance with Giovanni Preziosi
Giovanni Preziosi
Giovanni Preziosi was an Italian fascist politician noted for his anti-Semitism.- Early career :...
being a prime example. It has also been indicated Mussolini had his own, if somewhat different than Nazi, brand of racist views. Many blacks deemed the invasion of Ethiopia to be offensive or racist.
Racial laws during this time included the manifesto of race designed to protect italy's aryan origins from those deemed undesirable, there were anti-semitic laws closely based on the nazi model and in italy's african colonies inter-racial relationships were forbidden and would be punishable by the possible arrest of the white partner and the possibilty of the death sentence for the black partner.
Julius Evola
Julius Evola
Barone Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola also known as Julius Evola, was an Italian philosopher and esotericist...
is also an Italian figure of this period noted for racist theories..Mussolini himself regarded the romans as racists, and felt " the white man has to subdue the black,brown and yellow races"
Modern times
There has been concern that racism and xenophobia in Italy has increased in the twenty-first century. In particular actions by the Lega Nord have been criticized as xenophobic or racist by several sources. Italians protested the murder of Burkina Faso native Abdul Salam Guibre and racism in Italy on September 20, 2008.L'Osservatore Romano
L'Osservatore Romano
L'Osservatore Romano is the "semi-official" newspaper of the Holy See. It covers all the Pope's public activities, publishes editorials by important churchmen, and runs official documents after being released...
, the semi-official newspaper for the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, indicated racism played an important role in the riot in Rosarno
Rosarno
Rosarno is a comune in the province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region of Calabria. It is about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria. Rosarno stands on a natural terrace cloaked in olive plantations and vineyards on the left bank of the river Mesima, overlooking...
. Comments by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
concerning President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
also gained notice. According to a Eurobarometer study Italians had the third lowest level of "comfort with person of Roma
Roma
- Places :Italy* Rome, the capital of Italy, is called Roma in Italian and some other languages* Roma Tre University, a university located in Rome, Italy, and founded in 1992...
origin as neighbor" like Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
ns and Czechs
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
. The deaths of Cristina and Violetta Djeordsevic
Death of Cristina and Violetta Djeordsevic
Cristina and Violetta Djeordsevic were two young Roma girls who died accidentally in July 2008 while swimming at a beach in Naples, Italy. Their deaths brought international attention when their covered bodies were photographed amidst Italian vacationers who seemed unconcerned that two non-Italian...
, two Roma children who drowned while Italian beach-goers remained unperturbed, brought international attention to the relationship between Italians and the Roma people.