The fatherland, the Italian nation and its role in the world
This chapter discusses the importance of the ‘national-patriotic’ symbology and expressive codes for all the competitors in the Italian political arena during the Cold War. In the struggle between pro-Soviet and anti-Communist fronts, both sides used Italian national myths and iconic unifying symbols, such as the image of Garibaldi, in order to present themselves as the ‘true’ Fatherland against their competitors, identified as the ‘fifth column’ and the ‘servants’ of ‘foreign imperialists’. However, after the disaster of fascist expansionism and the horrors of a war nobody wanted to repeat, in any case the claim of a renovated decisive role in the world could not be presented according to the words of militaristic nationalism. It was rather conjured with the promotion of peace against the menace of a new invasion and a subsequent global conflict.