Description
This is an original Italian fascist silk blackshirt from the early 1920’s. With the typical early “rounded” collartips and two metallic “fasces” insignia on the collar tips. There are on both shoulders blue and black embroidered shoulderinsignia “XIII”, indicating the territorial region. In this case “XII or 13” corresponds with the territorial organisation of the regio of the Thirteenth Zone, which was Apulia, with it’s headquarters in Bari.
Large size in excellent condition. I displayed it fully folded out on a mannquin to show it’s lenght.
Extremely hard to find early 1920’s Italian fascist blackshirt. Like this and complete with territorial insignia and with collarinsignia very rare to find.
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Background:
The Voluntary Militia for National Security (Italian: Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts (Italian: Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: Camicia Nera) or squadristi (singular: squadrista), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-volunteer militia of the Kingdom of Italy under Fascist rule, similar to the German Sturmabteilung (SA). Its members were distinguished by their black uniforms (modelled on those of the Arditi, Italy’s elite troops of World War I) and their loyalty to Benito Mussolini, the Duce (leader) of Fascism, to whom they swore an oath. The founders of the paramilitary groups were nationalist intellectuals, former army officers and young landowners opposing peasants’ and country labourers’ unions. Their methods became harsher as Mussolini’s power grew, and they used violence and intimidation against Mussolini’s opponents.
The Blackshirts were established as the Squadrismo in 1919 and consisted of many disgruntled former soldiers. It was given the task of leading fights against their bitter enemies – the Socialists. They may have numbered 200,000 by the time of Mussolini’s March on Rome from 28 to 31 October 1922. In 1922 the squadristi were reorganized into the milizia and formed numerous bandiere, and on 1 February 1923, the Blackshirts became the Voluntary Militia for National Security (Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, or MVSN), which lasted until 8 September 1943
Benito Mussolini was the leader, or Commandant–General and First Honorary Corporal, of the Blackshirts, but executive functions were carried out by the Chief of Staff, equivalent to an army general. The MVSN was formed in imitation of the ancient Roman army, as follows:
Basic organisation:
The terms after the first are not words common to European armies (e.g., the Italian battaglione has cognates in many languages). Instead, they derive from the structure of the ancient Roman army.
Zona (zone) = division
Legione (legion) = regiment, each legion was a militia unit consisting of a small active cadre and a large reserve of civilian volunteers.
Coorte (cohort) = battalion
Centuria (centuria) = company
Manipolo (maniple) = platoon
Squadra (squad) = squad
These units were also organised on the triangular principle as follows:
3 squadre = 1 manipolo (maniple)
3 manipoli = 1 centuria (centuria)
3 centuriae = 1 coorte (cohort)
3 coorti = 1 legione (legion)
3 legioni = 1 divisioni (field division)
3 or more legioni = 1 zona (zone – an administrative division)
Territorial organisation:
The MVSN original organisation consisted of 15 zones controlling 133 legions (one per province) of three cohorts each and one Independent Group controlling 10 legions. In 1929 it was reorganized into four raggruppamenti, but later in October 1936, it was reorganized into 14 zones controlling only 133 legions with two cohorts each one of men 21 to 36 years old and the other of men up to 55 years old. There were also special units in Rome, on Ponza Island and the black-uniformed Moschettieri del Duce (“The Leader’s Musketeers”, Mussolini’s Guard), the Albanian Fascist Militia (four legions) and Milizia Coloniale in Africa (seven legions).
The original organisation by Royal Decrees on 1 February 1923 and 4 August 1924 consisted of fifteen zones, as follows:
1st Zone (Piedmont), HQ Turin
first Sabauda – Turin
second Alpina – Turin
third Subalpina – Cuneo
fourth Marengo – Alessandria
fifth Valle Scrivia – Tortona
eleventh Monferrato – Casale
twelfth Monte Bianco – Aosta
twenty-eighth Randaccio – Vercelli
twenty-ninth Alpina – Pallanza
thirtieth Oddone – Novara
thirty-seventh P. Prestinari – Turin
thirty-eighth N. Alfieri – Asti
Second Zone (Lombardy) HQs Milan
Third Zone (Liguria) HQ Genoa
Fourth Zone (Venezia Tridentina) HQ Verona
Fifth Zone (Veneto) HQ Venice
Sixth Zone (Venezia Giulia) HQ Trieste
Seventh Zone (Emilia Romagna) HQ Bologna
Eighth Zone (Tuscany) HQ Florence
Ninth Zone (Umbria & Marche) HQ Perugia
Tenth Zone (Lazio) HQ Rome
Eleventh Zone (Abruzzo & Molise) HQ Pescara
Twelfth Zone (Campania) HQ Naples
Thirteenth Zone (Apulia) HQ Bari
Fourteenth Zone (Sicily) HQ Palermo
Fifteenth Zone (Sardinia) HQ Cagliari
More Background:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackshirts
MANNEQUIN NOT INCLUDED!
