Pietro Fedele | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Public Education of theKingdom of Italy | |
| In office 5 January 1925 – 9 July 1928 | |
| Preceded by | Alessandro Casati |
| Succeeded by | Giuseppe Belluzzo |
| Member of theSenate of the Kingdom of Italy | |
| In office 22 December 1928 – 5 August 1943 | |
| Member of theChamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of Italy | |
| In office 24 May 1924 – 22 December 1928 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1873-04-15)15 April 1873 |
| Died | 9 January 1943(1943-01-09) (aged 69) |
| Party | National Fascist Party |
| Awards | Order of the Crown of Italy Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Order of Pope Pius IX |
Pietro Fedele (15 April 1873 –9 January 1943) was an Italian historian andFascist politician who served asMinister of Public Education of theKingdom of Italy from 1925 to 1928.
He was born inTraetto, present-dayMinturno, on 15 April 1873, to Ferdinando Fedele, a factory worker, and Angela Conte, a farmer. His elder brother, Salvatore, was a clergyman and sent him to study at theseminary ofGaeta; Pietro, however, left it to finish his studies at thePontifical University of the Holy Cross inRome. In 1890, he moved to theUniversity of Rome, where he attended courses inChristian archeology,Romance philology,paleography,diplomatics,ancient history andmedieval history. He finally graduated inLiterature in 1894. He began his career as a teacher in themiddle schools of Rome,Arpino,Sezze andVelletri, and then moved on to thehigh schools ofPotenza,Benevento andNaples.[1][2][3]
In 1905, he obtained the chair ofmodern history at the Scientific-Literary Academy ofMilan, and from 1910 was professor of modern history at theUniversity of Turin, then at the University of Rome from 1914, and from 1933, professor of medieval history at the same university. An expert in the history of theMiddle Ages, from 5 June 1933 to his death, he was president of the Italian Historical Institute for the Middle Ages, of which he proposed the change of headquarters to theOratorio dei Filippini. He was also a member of theAccademia dei Lincei from 1926. In the 1930s he directed the editing of the Great UTET Encyclopedic Dictionary, one of the most important Italianencyclopedias.[4][5][6]
He married Tecla De Fabritiis, fromItri, and had a daughter with her, Giovanna.
Too old to participate inWorld War I, he was an outspoken interventionist. In April 1924, he was elected to theItalian Chamber of Deputies, and in September of the same year, he joined theNational Fascist Party, later becoming a member of theGrand Council of Fascism. On 5 January 1925,Alessandro Casati,Minister of Public Education, resigned in protest against the speech with whichBenito Mussolini had taken moral responsibility for the murder ofGiacomo Matteotti, and theDuce chose Fedele as his successor. The choice, opposed byGiovanni Gentile (who would have preferredBalbino Giuliano), was due to Fedele's excellent relationship with theCatholic Church and to his personal friendship withPope Pius XI.[7][8][9][10]
During his tenure as minister, he committed himself to the complete fascistization of schools, preventing the appointment of teachers not enrolled in the Fascist Party and starting the drafting of a single textbook for the entire nation. He also ordered the resumption of the archaeological excavations ofHerculaneum andPompeii, the recovery of theNemi ships and the opening of the Directorate General for libraries. In 1926, he organized a meeting inAssisi with CardinalRafael Merry del Val aimed at improving relations between Italy and the Church in view of the futureLateran Pacts, the first official meeting between an Italian minister and a papal legate.[11][12][13]
However, he was often widely criticized by party members for being "too soft"; among his main detractors wereAugusto Turati, Ernesto Codignola, Vittorio Cian,Bernardo Barbiellini Amidei and, above all, Giovanni Gentile, who wrote about him in an article forIl Popolo d'Italia, which was never published, "It is clear that he is in the government and among the fascists with the spirit ofDon Abbondio." Also, because of this criticism, on 9 July 1928, he left his post, being replaced byGiuseppe Belluzzo. On 22 December of the same year, Mussolini appointed himsenator; the appointment was validated on 6 May and Fedele was sworn in on 15 May.[14][15][16]
Starting from 1930, he held the office of commissioner of the king at theHeraldic Council, and was also president of theState Polygraphic Institute and vice-president of theHigh Council of Archives of the Kingdom. He died inRome after a long illness on 9 January 1943.[17][18][19]
