| Giovanni Antonio Colonna di Cesarò | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Post and Telegraphs | |
| In office February 1922 – 1924 | |
| Prime Minister | Benito Mussolini |
| Succeeded by | Costanzo Ciano |
| Minister of Post and Telegraphs | |
| In office 15 May 1921 – 1921 | |
| Prime Minister | Giovanni Giolitti |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Giovanni Antonio Francesco Giorgio Landolfo Colonna Romano 1878 |
| Died | 1940 (aged 61–62) |
| Political party | Social Democracy |
| Spouse | Barbara Antonelli |
| Children | Simonetta Colonna di Cesarò |
Giovanni Antonio Colonna di Cesarò (1878–1940) was an Italian noble and politician who was the leader of the Social Democracy. He also served as the minister of post and telegraphs between 1922 and 1924 in the Mussolini Cabinet. He was known as the "anthroposophist duke".
Biography
Colonna was born in 1878. From 1907, he started his political career and became a member of the parliament in the period 1909–1921. He founded and published a magazine entitled Rassegna contemporanea which is among the early anthroposophical publications. As of 1914, he was a member of the Italian National Olympic Committee.
Following the general elections on 15 May 1921 Colonna was named as the minister of post and telegraphs in the cabinet led by Giovanni Giolitti. He was appointed minister of posts to the cabinet headed by Luigi Facta on 25 February 1922, but he resigned from office soon being succeeded by Luigi Fulci in the post. In 1922, Colonna established the Social Democracy party and joined the government of Benito Mussolini as the minister of post and telegraphs, which he held until his resignation in February 1924. He was replaced by Costanzo Ciano in the post. Following this incident, Colonna retired from politics. His another magazine was Lo Stato Democratico (Italian: The Democratic State) which also published anthroposophical articles.
Close to the environments of esotericism and Roman neopaganism of those years, Colonna was part of the UR Group which was established in 1927 (perhaps with the pseudonym of "Arvo", or with those of "Krur" and "Breno").
Personal life and death
Colonna was married to Barbara Antonelli, a noblewoman of Russian origins, and their daughters were Mita and Simonetta Colonna di Cesarò. He died in 1940.
Views
Colonna was an advocate of colonialism and democratic imperialism. During World War I he supported the intervention of the Italian Empire through his writings in Rassegna contemporanea which also reflected his radical national views. However, Colonna did not have a consistent political ideology. Instead, he adopted different political views depending on the conditions. Following his retirement from politics Colonna became an anti-Fascist.
References
- ^ Peter Staudenmaier (2012). "Anthroposophy in Fascist Italy". In Arthur Versluis; Lee Irwin; Melinda Phillips (eds.). Esotericism, Religion, and Politics. Minneapolis, MN: New Cultures Press. pp. 83–84. ISBN 978-1596500136.
- ^ Marc Raboy (2016). Marconi: The Man Who Networked the World. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 463. ISBN 978-0-19-931359-4.
- Tito Forcellese (2020). "Italian aristocrats and their involvement in sports institutions, 1894–1914". In Peter Heyrman; Jan de Maeyer (eds.). Leisure and Elite Formation. Arenas of Encounter in Continental Europe, 1815-1914. Berlin; Boston, MA: De Gruyter Oldenbourg. p. 174. doi:10.1515/9783110585193. ISBN 9783110582307. S2CID 243202437.
- "Italy's new cabinet and the Fiume episode". Current History. 16 (1): 168–170. 1922. doi:10.1525/curh.1922.16.1.168. JSTOR 45329293. S2CID 249070830.
- Goffredo Adinolfi (September 2004). "Fascist Era Elites (2). The Fascist ministerial elite". Portuguese Journal of Social Science. 3 (2): 94. doi:10.1386/pjss.3.2.91/0.
- ^ Julius Evola (2018). Introduction to Magic: Rituals and Practical Techniques for the Magus. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions/Bear. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-62055-857-7.
- Michele Beraldo (2006). "L'Antroposofia e il suo rapporto con il Regime Fascista". In Gianfranco de Turris (ed.). Esoterismo e fascismo: storia, interpretazioni, documenti (in Italian). Rome: Edizioni mediterranee. p. 83. ISBN 978-88-272-1831-0.
- Renato Del Ponte, Evola and the magical Group of UR. Studies and documents to serve the history of «Ur-Krur», Borzano (Reggio Emilia), SeaR, 1994, cf. Maurizio Martucci (2018). "Il magico Gruppo di Ur-Krur" (in Italian).
- Marianna Barracane (28 October 2023). "La vita di Simonetta Colonna di Cesarò". Harper's Bazaar (in Italian). Retrieved 19 December 2023.
External links
Media related to Giovanni Antonio Colonna di Cesarò at Wikimedia Commons
| Members of the Mussolini Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head of government and duce of Fascism |  | |
| Minister of Aeronautics (since 1925) | ||
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | ||
| Minister of Agriculture (abolished in 1923) | ||
| Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (since 1929) | ||
| Minister of the Colonies (abolished in 1937) | ||
| Minister of Italian Africa (since 1937) | ||
| Minister of Communications (since 1924) | ||
| Minister of Corporations (since 1926) | ||
| Ministry of Popular Culture (since 1937) | ||
| Minister of the Interior | ||
| Minister of Domestic Economy | ||
| Minister of Domestic Education | ||
| Minister of Finance | ||
| Minister of Justice and Affairs of Religion | ||
| Minister of Industry and Commerce | ||
| Minister of Public Works | ||
| Minister of War | ||
| Minister of Labour and Social Security | ||
| Minister of Posts and Telegraphs | ||
| Minister of War Production (since 6 February 1943) | ||
| Minister of Public Education | ||
| Minister of Trades and Currencies | ||
| Minister of Press and Propaganda | ||
| Minister of Freed Territories from Enemies (abolished on 5 February 1923) | ||
| Minister of Treasure (merged into Ministry of Finance on 31 December 1922) | ||