1896–1940
✕ Shot down by friendly fire
Ferrara squad leader and March on Rome quadrumvir who became air minister and governor of Libya
Born near Ferrara, he served as an Alpini officer in the First World War. Joining the National Fascist Party in 1921, he ran its Ferrara organisation and formed squads that broke strikes for landowners and raided socialists and communists around Bologna and Ravenna. As one of the four quadrumvirs he led the March on Rome in 1922 and in 1923 became a founding member of the Fascist Grand Council. In 1924 he was general commander of the Blackshirt militia. From 1926 he built the Regia Aeronautica, became air minister in 1929 and won fame with transatlantic formation flights. Sent to govern Libya in 1933, he was among the few leading Fascists to oppose antisemitism and the alliance with Nazi Germany. In 1940 Italian anti-aircraft guns shot down his plane over Tobruk.
Activities and affiliations
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1921–1922
Fascist squads (squadristi)Squad leader in Ferrara
Military command -
1921–1940
National Fascist Party (PNF)Main
Political and party leadership -
1924
Blackshirts (MVSN)General Commander of the Fascist militia
Military command -
1926–1933
Italy state institutionsMinister of the Air Force
Military command -
1933–1940
Italy state institutionsGovernor-General of Libya
Government and administration