Ricerc@Sapienza

This article offers a close reading of the initiatives following the racial laws promoted by the Institute of
Roman Studies, an institution operating in synergy with the political culture and imperial ambitions of the fascist regime
by supporting and influencing its rhetoric of romanità and the use of symbols and myths of the “Third Rome”. Refusing
the interpretation of racial laws as a temporary phase of Italian history completely alien to the country’s cultural context,
the article underlines how 1938 fits into and can be reinserted into the general interpretation of the Institute of Roman
Studies’ initiatives. Furthermore, it analyses the consequences of the racial legislation on the staff and collaborators
employed by the Institute. The author shows that the racial laws represent an additional element of the attempt of some
distinguished intellectuals to find a synthesis between the sacralisation of politics and the politicisation of religion through
the myth of Rome. Spreading and trying to strengthen the national-roman version of racism, the author underlines that
the Institute of Roman Studies was in the first line to shaping an interpretation that, influenced by the Catholic antimodern
thought, was no more moderate or less responsible for the persecution of the Jews than other more revolutionary
positions inside the fascism. In fact, this interpretation made the concept of the Italian race even more acceptable in public
opinion, strengthening and rooting it in the history and greatness of Italian civilisation throughout the centuries. Finally,
the article stresses that the racial laws were a crucial moment of shaping the fascist anthropological revolution, totally
supported by an Institute fully engaged in the middle of the battle for the nationalization of the masses fought by the
regime and the Catholic Church between the wars.