Mussolini's Service Calendar

PD Dr. Lutz Klinkhammer, Dr. Amedeo Osti Guerrazzi

The primary objective of the research project on Mussolini's service calendar is to provide a digital tool that allows us to understand the working methods of the fascist dictator by displaying his personal agenda. The initial phase of the project consists in cataloguing Mussolini's daily commitments on the basis of records produced by his private secretariat. The principal source is the appointment calendar compiled on a daily basis by the Segreteria Particolare del Duce. These papers are preserved in the Archivio Storico Diplomatico del Ministero degli Affari Esteri for the years 1923–1929, and in the Archivio Centrale dello Stato for the period 1930–1943. The information gathered from these sources has been entered into a database that is accessible to the scientific community. Beyond tracing the evolution of Mussolini's working practices, the project seeks, more fundamentally, to enhance our understanding of the functioning of the Fascist regime, which was characterised by a pronounced centralisation of power in the hands of the dictator. In fact, the database will reveal who was granted an audience, how frequently party hierarchs, ministerial officials, foreign diplomats, prelates or private citizens were received at Palazzo Venezia (where, from 1930 onwards, most audiences took place), and at what moment specific individuals succeeded in gaining access to the dictator. Finally, the database can be used to assess the reliability of numerous sources, particularly self-testimonies.

PD Dr. Lutz Klinkhammer
Principal investigator

Dr. Amedeo Osti Guerrazzi
Project researcher until 2017

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