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George L. Mosse was one of the greatest historian of fascism. However, his works clearly reveal that he was a true 20th century intellectual. This article aims at highlighting Mosse's thought on how to defend individual freedom and liberal democracies from the assaults of irrationalism, myths and intolerance in the second half of 20th century. In the midst of a western world dealing with the spreading of illiberal movements, Mosse's research offers tools for understanding the appeal of antidemocratic politics. Worried about the power of the States during the fifties, Mosse underlined the necessity of transforming the political action of democracies into a drama. The only way to prevent mass politics from being captured during the times of crisis by nationalism and by the demand for new forms of more direct democracy (including the desire for a leader) was both to adopt and to make tolerant the new politics diffused by nationalist mass movements. In Mosse's opinion, the antidote to the spread of exclusionary nationalism and the crisis of liberalism were the concept of Bildung and, following the first nationalists and Zionists, the humanisation of nationalism, by transforming the greatest ideological force of the 20th century, just as happened to socialist and Christian ideologies, into a liberal force.

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.

The article offers a close reading of the numerous initiatives 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 use of symbols and myths of the 'Third Rome'. Namely, the article shows that during the 1930s some Italian intellectuals and the high ranks of the Vatican tried to find a synthesis between fascist and Catholic ideologies by means of the glorification of the myth of 'Christian Rome'. The article shows that many Italian intellectuals thought there was a chance of finding a synthesis between the sacralization of politics and the politicization of religion through the myth of Rome. This chance became a mission with the rapprochement to Nazi Germany, with fascism clearly taking shape as a political religion, and during the Second World War. Despite its final failure, this 'conciliatory' attempt shows the complex and various relationships during the fascism between the processes of sacralization of politics and politicization of religion. Finally, the article could be a point of reflection on the various facets about the process of nationalization of Italians widespread during the fascist regime.