Founding The school was founded through the efforts of
Niccolò Giani and the Milan
Gruppo Universitario Fascista, a youth wing of the National Fascist Party for university students. It was formed on April 10, 1930, at the
Casa del Fascio (Fascist House) at piazza Belgioioso (
Belgioioso Square), part of the
Istituto Fascista di Cultura (Fascist Institute of Culture).
Leo Pollini presided at the meeting. These two organizations had the right to choose the nominal director. Giani anticipated the opening on April 4, in an article in the GUF newspaper
"Libro e moschetto" (
Book and Musket) The School of Fascist Mysticism was founded that same Spring in Milan, under the patronage of
Benito Mussolini's brother,
Arnaldo Mussolini, and in the presence of Catholic
Cardinal Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster. The Milanese institution was first located in
San Francesco d'Assisi Street to gather its first staff members, and held its first directors' meeting on April 10, in the
casa del fascio (Fascist House) in
piazza Belgioioso (
Belgioioso Square). expanded by Giani later. From October 9 to October 15, 1932,
Niccolò Giani wrote a type of program manifesto, establishing the founding principles of the School: The school proposed the goal of reviving the spirit of Fascism, the battlefield trench (recalling Italy's role in
World War I) and the first years of the movement, delivered ideally through a new generation. proposed in particular to be the center of political education for future leaders of Italian
Fascism. The key principles on which the teaching was based were: voluntary activism; faith in Italy, from which it was believed faither in
Benito Mussolini and Fascism derived; anti-
rationalism; a mixture of religion and politics; teachings against
liberal democracy (
constitutional democracy) and
socialism; and a cult of
Ancient Rome (
romanità). Giani was made the school's first director, and the school's first president was
Vito Mussolini, Benito Mussolini's nephew.
Ferdinando Mezzasoma was made vice-president.
Luigi Stefanini acted as an official "consultant" to the school for many years. In via Pellico, they had several offices, where it was easier to organize their work space, and inside they kept around five thousand volumes, mainly about Fascism but also other publications, such as a collection of issues by the socialist newspaper
L'Avanti published by the
Confederazione Generale del Lavoro (General Labour Confederation). Numerous courses were given on a variety of subjects.
Acquisition of the "Covo" (Cave) In 1939, during a ceremony presided over by
Achille Starace, secretary of the
National Fascist Party, the official headquarters moved to the offices that housed Mussolini's newspaper ''
Il Popolo d'Italia'' during its infancy, called "il Covo" (the Cave). The "Covo" over the years had been transformed into a permanent museum of the Fascist Revolution, and since November 15, 1939 the entire building had been declared a "national monument" with an "honour guard" made of fighters from the
squadrismo (squadristi) and veterans. On November 20, by an explicit decision by Mussolini, it was officially handed over to the students of the school, at an event that was conducted as a consecration of Giani's students, reunited around him. In reality the transition had been ordered on October 18, 1939, as shown on the sheet of orders of the
National Fascist Party from that date, at which time the Board had been received in
Rome by Mussolini. Mussolini had encouraged them to continue their activities. The School of Fascist Mysticism's directors intended to use the old location of "
Il Popolo d'Italia" to turn it into a "Shrine of the Fascist Revolution", by creating displays with
Fasci italiani di combattimento and early years of Fascism memorabilia on the first floor. On the second and third floors, memorabilia and documents relating to the years leading up to the 1922
March on Rome were to be displayed, and finally the most recent years were to be exhibited on the fourth floor. ==Conflict with the Catholic Church==