Fascism in Ferrara, 1915-25

Fascism in Ferrara, a revised version of the author's 1971 University of Oxford Ph.D. thesis, is a case study about how, and why, fascism took root in the Italian region of Ferrara (a province particularly noted for its interwar fascist violence). Ferrara, still the bastion of revolutionary socialism in 1920, has been described as the 'cradle' of fascism, because only a year later it played a major part in rescuing Mussolini from political extinction. Dr. Corner's study seeks to explain this sudden transformation, and throws important new light on the development of fascism in both town and country. It includes a fascinating account of many of the individuals involved, notably Italo Balbo, and is one of the first books to demonstrate the crucial role of the provincial fascist movements in carrying Mussolini to power.