The inscription (1928) was carved on a plaque fixed at entrance of the seat of the National Association of Combatants  (Opera Nazionale Combattenti; ONC) in Via Ulpiano 11 in Rome. It was authored by Nazareno Capo. The inscription is no longer extant as it was probably destroyed after the Second World War.

The text praises Mussolini, calling him dux unicus and optimus patronus, and uses a rather clumsy explanatory phrase to denote the ONC, repeating patro- in the space of two lines. The inscription was unveiled during Mussolini’s visit to the ONC headquarters on 5 March 1928, as evidenced by photographs preserved in the Archivio Storico Istituto Luce. For this event, Nazareno Capo also authored a Latin text written on a parchment, which was given to Mussolini. 

The National Association of Combatants was established in 1917 after the defeat at the Battle of Caporetto. Its purpose was to assist veterans in finding work and land for cultivation. In the Italian name of the organization, the word ‘combattenti’ literally means ‘fighters’ and does not specifically refer to war veterans who have completed their military service. While the term reflects that the ONC was founded during the war, for Fascism, it also suggested rhetorically that the battle was never over and that veterans were engaged in a never-ending fight.

Under Mussolini, the ONC became the main instrument in the Battle of Land, which aimed to drain marshlands. The ONC was abolished in 1977. Since 1982, its former headquarters has housed the government’s Civil Protection Department. 

Bibliography

Capo, Nazareno. 1929. Carmina selecta, solutae orationis exempla et frustula varia. Grottaferrata: Scuola Tipografica Italo-Orientale ‘S. Nilo’, 125.

 Antonino Nastasi