16 January 1933

What a wonderful night! Paolo is a wonderful man and his family is a joy to be with.  We had a delicious Italian dinner; Trenette al Pesto which is a Ligurian pasta recipe including spaghetti noodles, pine nuts, and Parmigiano cheese, served with Amarone wine.  An absolute exquisite meal!  Paolo’s father is involved in politics and the Italian government.  He has many stories to tell and he shared with Paolo and I what is transpiring in Italy at this current time.  Mussolini, ‘the Saviour of Italy,’ the fascist leader, dictator of Italy was the hot topic of our conversation; his history and rise to power.  Mussolini prior and during WWI was an advocate for no violence but he took a turn and developed a military wing in the fascist party.  He now believed that violence was the only way to achieve his goals to fully unify the country.  He believed that the violence could clear out the government of people who don’t want to make change.  Also, the use of violence would be used to implement new improvements for the country.  Paolo’s father, Giancarlo, experiences these actions and decisions first hand due to his job in the government, and he continues on with his story.  The benefit of Mussolini is that he appeals to Italian traditions as well as each class of citizens.  Mussolini’s fascist party started to control many infrastructures in the country such as electricity and water.  As the fascist party continues to rise, a free vote is held, Mussolini overthrows King Victor Emmanuel III and Mussolini becomes dictator of Italy.  He now is entitled to unlimited power.  Once Mussolini became dictator of Italy, each sector of the corporate world became under government influence; Mussolini and his government oversee each section.  Giancarlo then leans over and tells us something secretive that will not be released into the newspapers for a few years; it is just in talks right now within the government.  The Mussolini government is planning to become an ally of Adolph Hitler due to his rise to power in Germany.  It is said to believe that Mussolini is going to enter into an alliance with Hitler and Germany, which will be the Rome-Berlin Axis.  This axis will attempt to be a superpower against France and Britain. 

The stories that Giancarlo shared with Paolo and I are truly an eye opener of what has occurred and what is said to occur in future years involving Italy’s neutrality and Germany.  We will see where this leads Italy and their leader, Mussolini.

All in all, a truly enjoyable night filled with stories, history and laughter!  I will write soon.

Ciao!