Abstract
In 1966 when Renzo De Felice turned to the Matteotti murder in his multi-volume biography of Mussolini, the materials he had available convinced him to focus on the political motive for the crime—Matteotti’s May 30 speech, the irritation Mussolini expressed to his followers in its aftermath, the “fascist lesson” that mistakenly ended in the socialist’s death.
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Notes
- 1.
De Felice, Mussolini il fascista. La conquista del potere 1921–1925, pp. 660–661.
- 2.
See Amerigo Dumini, Diciassette colpi (Milan: Longanesi, 1958), 70.
- 3.
AS Roma, Documenti, vol. III, p. 17 and p. 100 of Dumini’s memoir in ACS, Confinati politici, b. 377, fasc. Dumini A. The telegram began with: “Dear Cesarino, I received your telegram this morning and I will do as requested. I will make Putato available to you, as you may be in need of him.”
- 4.
See the interrogation of Putato of 21 October in AS Roma, Interrogatori, 74.
- 5.
ACS, PS, 1924, b. 47, telegram n. 1358 of 14 June 1924.
- 6.
AS Roma, Esami, vol. III, 202, deposition of Egidia Bosisio of 11 October 1924. See also the preliminary sentence of 1 December 1925 in ACS, Minculpop, b. 158, p. 15.
- 7.
The telegram is in AS Roma, Documenti allegati agli atti processuali, vol. I, p. 41.
- 8.
See Meoni’s deposition of 4 July 1924, in AS Roma, Esami, vol. I, 226–231. Meoni’s statements were confirmed by Mazzoli in a discussion that took place between the two on 5 August 1924; see in ibid., Confronti, pp. 21–24.
- 9.
See p. 182 of the sentence of the 1947 Matteotti trial.
- 10.
See the deposition of Laino, who stated he was ready to exhibit the telegrams that were sent without question, on Dumini’s insistence, to Poggioreale, in AS Roma, Esami, vol. I, pp. 334–335. Laino told investigators that Thierschald was “an agent of the Fascist Party, in linea riservata.” The text of the telegram is in Marinelli at pp. 455–456 of the sentence of the second Matteotti trial of 1947.
- 11.
See ACS, Polizia politica, Serie B, b. 28.
- 12.
Ibid., see especially the letter dated January 10, 1925, with the very explicit statement from Adolfo Dumini to Giovanni Vaselli.
- 13.
Investigators spent a lot of time attempting to verify whether Matteotti was carrying a leather bag when he was kidnapped. All the statements of friends, associates and collaborators agree on one point—that at that time Matteotti did not use a leather briefcase. He kept all the documents he was using to prepare his speech on the budget in a large folder of heavy paper with the letterhead of the Chamber of Deputies. Velia told the investigators that her husband “that day, as always, carried an unopened folder made of heavy white paper with the Chamber of Deputies seal on it, where he carried the notes and documents he needed for his work at the Chamber.” So, there was no bag, although this does not change the substance of the matter. The paper folder and the documents it contained were never found, either at the site of the kidnap** or among the papers seized from Matteotti’s assailants. This continues to be an argument in favor of those who maintain that the explanation for his murder must be sought in those papers.
- 14.
ACS, CPC, b. 3157, fasc. Matteotti G. The italics is my own.
- 15.
AS Roma, Atti generici, vol. V, pp. 7–12.
- 16.
Ibid., Esami, vol. III, p. 25.
- 17.
See especially the note dated 28 June 1936, in ACS, Polizia politica, Fascicoli personali, b. 1102, fasc. Poveromo A.
- 18.
Sentence of the 1947 Matteotti trial, p. 188.
- 19.
Ibid., 197.
- 20.
Ibid., 194.
- 21.
See AS Roma, Esami, vol. III, p. 399, deposition of Giulio Ceroli dated 25 July 1924.
- 22.
Rossini, Il delitto Matteotti tra il Viminale e l’Aventino, 929.
- 23.
See Il Ponte, XLII, n. 2, March–April 1986, pp. 76–93.
- 24.
Ibid., 82, the italics is my own.
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Canali, M. (2024). The Business Motive. In: The Matteotti Murder and Mussolini. Italian and Italian American Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41471-8_8
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