Ancient Rome and Italian Fascist Archaeology

The Italian Fascists, led by Benito Mussolini, transformed the city of Rome with their archaeological and architectural projects during the 1920s and 30s. Their projects, including the Via dei Fori Imperiali, the Mausoleum of Augustus, and the Ara Pacis, are physical legacies of Italy’s Fascist era. They represent an idealized interpretation of ancient Roman history that was used in service of authoritarian political rule, racial intolerance, and imperialism.

Songs Used

Cylinder Seven - Chris Zabriskie

Written Sources

Agnew, John. “The Impossible Capital: Monumental Rome under Liberal and Fascist Regimes,
1870-1943.” Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography 80, no. 4 (1998):

“Augustus and the Mausoleum.” The Mausoleum of Augustus. Accessed May 8, 2023.

Kallis, A. “‘Framing’ Romanità: The Celebrations for the Bimillenario Augusteo and the

Nelis, Jan. “Constructing Fascist Identity: Benito Mussolini and the Myth of ‘Romanità.’” The

Povoledo, Elisabetta. “Road through Roman History Creates Colossal Headache.” The New

Singley, Paulette. “Fascism Under Erasure: A Proposal For Via Dei Fori Imperiali in Rome.” Log,

Tillson, Victoria G. “‘Quer Pasticciaccio Brutto’ of Urban Renewal: Gadda and Mussolini’s

Image/Video Sources

[nas]

So glad you're back, Thucydides! You have an excellent style and a clear passion for history. I really hope this means you'll stick around!

[dragonstormx]

Mark Twain said that history doesn’t repeat but it often rhymes.

Case and point, different scumbags use the same tricks.

[dragonstormx]

This video was unsettling, but the message is something that needed to be said.

[johannniebuhr]

New follower here, found you recommended on reddit. Love your vids.

[othoAD]

The legend himself returns, no I'm not a month late stop asking questions

[amendingamerica]

Great video! This conversation needs to be had.

What about nations like the US who use many Roman motifs? Is it wrong for us to use such motifs or can we use them in a respectable (nonfascist) manner?

[demilembias]

so refreshing to have someone knowledgeable and passionate enough about ancient history to be against its harmful, hateful, and incurious fascist misuse. its possible to love history and historical civilizations without using them as kitsch to propagandize some retvrn type nonsense.

[causantinthescot]

Hi, Thucydides!
I am glad to see you are back. Could you re-do the Roman Emperors tier list? (I think Valens should put in the strongest position in the C tier and Constantine I in S)

[Caligulashorse]

I wouldn’t claim “right wing and neo fascist” really use history it’s more a thing of morality and people generally not having a understanding of we’re there moral systems come from one things we can learn from Roman and modern Italian history is that have a understanding of right and wrong is vital because we can chose to make wrong right if we want too and that is not ok the Roman did a lot of evil things and fell in the west because of it.

[Leandro-Ferreira.]

Sera que você poderia um vídeo sobre Khosrow I

[lestergreen]

The idea that ancient people didn’t see race the same way we do isn’t some gotcha point. Of course they didn’t because they only saw ethnic differences between people they were threatened by. Today, race is judged by continent because two Europeans realize that they have more genetically in common than a European and Congolese pigme. There’s still the same ethnic difference understanding that the ancients had, but western civilization and whites as a whole weren’t racially conscious in terms of black and white until they were threatened by non white invaders like the moors and even today with the non white migration

[nubnubdubdeh]

This ofc does not mean facist italy and imperial rome are the same you can look fondly and nicely at romes past but facist italy stains it

[AndreaCandido-tpkk]

am born wiTh naTionaity A usTria

had
no
Double
NaTionalitys how
ofTen. Should i wriTe ThaT?

[AndreaCandido-tpkk]

...
THaT
Politic
System
Fashism
is not allowed in our counTry per Law

[elvolvasky]

That is the reason because mussolini is better, he unified an young country towards the culture, the roman culture

[drakengarfinkel]

Thucydides releases a new video and it’s an antifascist one. Today is a good day.

[salzigerfranz]

Mussolini, not always successful, but he had his heart in the right place.

[ept]

This video is great however I did find the black screens annoying it’s like a flash bang every time an image appears again 😂 keep up the good work instant sub but stop with the flash bangs

[sztamgast]

04:28 you are showing black slave among some white and maybe north african people xd

[hyperboreanforeskin]

Italian Fascists are based.
Hail Il Duce