section_path: Adoption by Fascist Movements/Fascist Italy
section_name: Fascist Italy
paragraph_text: Fascist Italy
  
  Gabriele D'Annunzio, who had written the subtitles for Cabiria, appropriated the salute when he occupied Fiume in 1919 and led the " Italian Regency of Carnaro ". D'Annunzio has been described as the John the Baptist of Italian Fascism, having invented many of the theatrical rituals, including the salute and the balcony address, that became part of the movement's symbolic repertoire. On January 31, 1923, the Ministry of Education instituted a ritual honoring the flag in schools using the Roman salute.
  
  In 1925, as Mussolini began his fascitization of the state, the salute was gradually adopted by the regime, and by December 1, 1925, all state civil administrators were required to use it.
  
  Achille Starace, the Italian Fascist Party secretary, pushed for measures to make the use of the Roman salute generally compulsory, denouncing hand shaking as bourgeois. He further extolled the salute as "more hygienic, more aesthetic, and shorter". He also suggested that the Roman salute did not imply the necessity of taking off the hat unless one was indoors. By 1932, the salute was adopted as the substitute for the handshake. On August 19, 1933, the military was ordered to use the salute whenever an unarmed detachment of soldiers was called on to render military honors for the King or Mussolini.
  
  The symbolic value of the gesture grew, and it was felt that the proper salute "had the effect of showing the fascist man's decisive spirit, which was close to that of ancient Rome". The salute was seen to demonstrate the fascist's "decisive spirit, firmness, seriousness, and acknowledgment and acceptance of the regime's hierarchical structure". It was further felt that the correct physical gesture brought forth a change in character. A joke claimed, however, that the Fascist salute used one hand because Italians were tired of raising both hands to surrender during World War I.
  
  The handshake was supposed to disappear from the view of Italians and not contaminate their daily life. In 1938, the party abolished handshaking in films and theater, and on November 21, 1938, the Ministry of Popular Culture issued orders banning the publishing of photographs showing people shaking hands. Even official photographs of visiting dignitaries were retouched to remove the image of their handshaking.
  
  Gabriele D'Annunzio, who had written the subtitles for Cabiria, appropriated the salute when he occupied Fiume in 1919 and led the " Italian Regency of Carnaro ". D'Annunzio has been described as the John the Baptist of Italian Fascism, having invented many of the theatrical rituals, including the salute and the balcony address, that became part of the movement's symbolic repertoire. On January 31, 1923, the Ministry of Education instituted a ritual honoring the flag in schools using the Roman salute.
  
  In 1925, as Mussolini began his fascitization of the state, the salute was gradually adopted by the regime, and by December 1, 1925, all state civil administrators were required to use it.
  
  Achille Starace, the Italian Fascist Party secretary, pushed for measures to make the use of the Roman salute generally compulsory, denouncing hand shaking as bourgeois. He further extolled the salute as "more hygienic, more aesthetic, and shorter". He also suggested that the Roman salute did not imply the necessity of taking off the hat unless one was indoors. By 1932, the salute was adopted as the substitute for the handshake. On August 19, 1933, the military was ordered to use the salute whenever an unarmed detachment of soldiers was called on to render military honors for the King or Mussolini.
  
  The symbolic value of the gesture grew, and it was felt that the proper salute "had the effect of showing the fascist man's decisive spirit, which was close to that of ancient Rome". The salute was seen to demonstrate the fascist's "decisive spirit, firmness, seriousness, and acknowledgment and acceptance of the regime's hierarchical structure". It was further felt that the correct physical gesture brought forth a change in character. A joke claimed, however, that the Fascist salute used one hand because Italians were tired of raising both hands to surrender during World War I.
  
  The handshake was supposed to disappear from the view of Italians and not contaminate their daily life. In 1938, the party abolished handshaking in films and theater, and on November 21, 1938, the Ministry of Popular Culture issued orders banning the publishing of photographs showing people shaking hands. Even official photographs of visiting dignitaries were retouched to remove the image of their handshaking.