A new navalism for a Fascist empire Navy, geopolitics, propaganda and radicalization (1934–1940)

The origins of Italy’s decade of wars are traceable in the ideological-political project to build a new Fascist civilization, capable of dominating a vital space that stretched from the gates of the Mediterranean, Gibraltar and Suez, down to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Sea and naval power were pivotal in the public discourse and propaganda of the regime to support its claims both internally and externally. Indoctrination of masses about these topics led Fascism to develop, for the first time in Italy, navalism for masses. Through the study of naval propaganda in the era of Fascist Empire, the chapter will show how it worked and supported the construction of Mussolini’s imperial idea in the Italian public. Starting by analysing the geopolitical perspectives developed by the Italian Navy and their use by the regime to support its claims, the chapter will also discuss the instruments of internal propaganda, from press to mass parades, to convince the Italians that the future of national expansion was across the sea.