Abstract

The economic and financial relations between the central government and local authorities were one of the crucial points in the construction process of the Fascist State. However, the political historiography on fascism has always given little importance to the issue, leaving to the specialists in the history of law, administration and local finances the task of illuminating the individual aspects of a complex mosaic of more general problems. This essay aims to trace the contours of a «forgotten history», which is still essential in order to better understand the operation of the regime, the means and the manner of its legitimacy, and the relations between the ruling elite and local authorities.