italia imperiale playlist

Imperial Italy

The fascist regime always consciously used the vehicle of the song, or at least the record, for its own ends, for political propaganda and exaltation of the figure of Benito Mussolini. Not only did they use songs but also skits, comic or didactic, released on 78 rpm discs, which at the time were quite popular with the public. The three in this playlist, Il bottone del legionario, Il giuramento di Balilla and Topolino balilla, are examples of these. The case of Topolino (Mickey Mouse) is truly singular (here with declared racist intentions) and the other Walt Disney characters mentioned in the dialogue. Praise and rhetoric of the empire, the tribute to the figure of Il Duce, and even three curious testimonials in dialect (Sardinian, Roman and Neapolitan) complete the picture, without forgetting the do-good aspect of the regime intervening to make a young woman’s difficult life easier at Christmas.