Augusto Turati

Who was Augusto Turati?

Augusto Turati was an Italian journalist and Fascist politician.

Born in Parma, after moving to Brescia as a young man, Turati worked on newspapers and became one of the editors at the liberal Provincia di Brescia; he attended law classes, but never graduated. An irredentist and advocate of Italy entering World War I, he volunteered for the front in 1915. In 1918, he returned to Brescia as head editor of the same newspaper.

In 1920, he joined the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento - a year later, the National Fascist Party. Active in trade unionism for the régime-backed corporatist enterprises, Turati was a secretary for the Brescia Fascio. In 1926-1930, he was secretary of the PNF, helping in the consolidation of Benito Mussolini's rule. He doubled this task with leadership positions in sports: a Federtennis president, a Federazione Italiana di Atletica Leggera one, and leader of the Italian National Olympic Committee. In 1930-1931, he was a member of the International Olympic Committee. Turati was also the inventor of a short-lived and supposedly uniquely Italian team sport which he called volata.