Becoming Roman Again 551Just as founders of the country newly unified in 1870 had sensed the need for certain
legislation to foster a national identity, so also the law under Mussolini was based on
the fundamental premise that historical, artistic, cultural, and environmental patrimony
provided the core around which a people’s identity and unity revolved.
The myth of Rome was the glue that would provide the cohesion of a country that was
relatively united geographically, yet thoroughly divided politically and culturally. Whereas
the Risorgimento employed references to Rome only sporadically and directed them
mostly at the upper-middle class, Fascist Italy on the other hand expanded the target
to include the masses, bombarding them by every possible means of communication.
Whether symbol or slogan, the message was compellingly clear:
New Italians! Become Roman again!
NOTE(^1) All translations from the Italian into English are mine.
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