The central Italian region of Tuscany played a major role in the rise of fascism to power. In the years leading to the March on Rome, only Emilia surpassed it in the number of fascist members and branches. Tuscan fascism, moreover, was second to none in its violence, organizational strength, and intransigence. Far from depending on outside support, Tuscan fascists undertook the export of squadrism to neighbouring Lazio and Umbria, even to distant Apulia.

Despite its prominent role in Mussolini's ‘revolution’, however, Tuscan fascism has been largely neglected by historians. The historiography of the postwar crisis and the rise of fascism has suffered from a pronounced northern bias. The experience of regions to the north of the Apennines has attracted a disproportionate scholarly interest, with an outpouring of excellent monographs on Emilia and the Po Valley. The same seminal period in the history of central and southern Italy has been underdeveloped. There is no extended study of the ‘Red Years’ and the rise of fascism in Tuscany. There are local studies of particular cities and provinces, but no attempt to explain the features that make the region as a whole a fruitful and substantial case study. This book is an effort to fill a large gap in the literature.