 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Spazio vitale" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| ||
|---|---|---|
Personal Rise to power Duce of Fascist Italy Tenure
Deposition and death Parties  | ||
Spazio vitale (Italian:[ˈspattsjoviˈtaːle]; 'living space') was the territorialexpansionist concept ofItalian fascism. It was defined in universal terms as "that part of the globe over which extends either the vital requirements or expansionary impetus of a state with strong unitary organization which seeks to satisfy its needs by expanding beyond its national boundaries".[1]: 47 Spazio vitale was analogous toNazi Germany's concept ofLebensraum.[1]: 46
The territorial extent of the Italianspazio vitale was to cover the Mediterranean as a whole (Mare Nostrum) and Northern Africa from theAtlantic Ocean to theIndian Ocean.[1]: 47 It was to be divided intopiccolo spazio ('small space'), which was to be inhabited only by Italians, andgrande spazio ('large space') inhabited byother nations to be under the Italian sphere of influence.[1]: 48 The nations in thegrande spazio would be subjected to Italian rule and protection, but were to keep their own languages and cultures.[1]: 46 Fascist ideologistGiuseppe Bottai likened this historic mission to the deeds of theancient Romans, stating that the new Italians will "illuminate the world with their art, educate it with their knowledge, and give robust structure to their new territories with their administrative technique and ability".[1]: 46
In the political philosophy ofItalian fascism, the concept ofspazio vitale, which justified the colonial expansion of Italy, corresponded to theLebensraum concept of theNazis in Germany.[1]: 46
As such, the ideological purpose ofspazio vitale included the exportation of revolutionary fascism to replace the native political systems in order to civilise the conquered peoples intocolonies of fascist Italy.
The fascist ideologistGiuseppe Bottai said that the historic mission ofspazio vitale was like that ofAncient Rome (753 BC – AD 476), and that the New Rome—theItalian Empire—would "illuminate the world with their art, educate it with their knowledge, and give robust structure to their new territories with their administrative technique and ability". Once under Italian hegemonic rule, the subjugated peoples would be permitted to retain their native languages and cultures within the Italian Empire.[1]: 46
The fascist regime declared that the achievement of Italy'sspazio vitale would be divided into three stages: short-term, medium-term, and long-term.[1]: 47 The schedule for its achievement was accelerated due to the outbreak ofWorld War II.[1]: 47
In Europe, Italy'sspazio vitale was to include southeastern Europe. Italy's short-term plans involved the expansion of itsgrande spazio in southeastern Europe that was to include several nations. In 1941, Italy defined these plans.Croatia andBosnia and Herzegovina were valuable to Italy because of their timber reserves, cattle herds, and their rich deposits of carbon, lignite, iron, copper, chrome, manganese, pyrites, antimony, and mercury.Serbia, upon being territorially "reduced to its effective proportions", would be within thespazio vitale of its mineral wealth, and in particular its copper deposits in Bor.Bulgaria was to be incorporated into thespazio vitale in the Mediterranean once it had acquired its "rightful" outlet to the Aegean Sea, and would be a major trading partner with Italy due to its rapeseed and soya production, wine production, and chrome deposits.Greece was to be included, whereupon Italy would assist in developing Greece's natural resources and develop a steel industry that had not been achieved; Greece would benefit from trade with Italy, and Italy in turn would gain access to these resources.[1]: 229–230
Hungary was of interest to be included because of its river harbours, tourism, large-scale production of agricultural machinery, electrical goods, pharmaceuticals, and timber.Romania was a target of Italy's ambitions that was included in plans promoted by Mussolini and Italy's Chief of the General StaffAlberto Pariani.[2] In 1939, Pariani stated that Italian-supported military intervention in Romania would result in Romania cedingTransylvania to Hungary andsouthern Dobrudja to Bulgaria.[2] Pariani in discussion with Hungarian officials repeated Mussolini's arguments that the Italian Army could militarily intervene against Yugoslavia and cross over its territory to seize Romania's oilfields and prevent a Soviet advance into the Balkans.[2]
In Africa, thespazio vitale was to include large territories in North and East Africa. Regarding modern-day Italy as the heir to the Roman Empire, the fascist regime utilized the precedent of historical Roman control of these territories to make land claims in North Africa.[3] North Africa's coastline was regarded as of strategic importance to the fascists' ambition ofMare Nostrum to allow Italy to dominate and control the Mediterranean Sea.[3]
The fascist regime emphasized the strategic importance of political and economic connection of Europe with Africa, and at times referred to the two areas in unison as "Eurafrica".[3] As part of this position, the regime produced maps displaying hypothetical rail lines and hydroelectric grids extending from Africa to Italy through the Italian colony of Libya as proposals to more closely integrate Italy's African possessions with Italy itself.[3]
.jpg)
