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Most people with an interest in the Third Reich are aware of the Ordensburg leadership schools in Nazi Germany. In Benito Mussolini’s Fascist Italy there was a similar institution called Accademia fascista della Farnesina, for educating and (physical) training future leaders of the Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB). There was an academy in Rome for men and the facility for female Balilla members, the Accademia Femminile Fascista, was located in the beautiful town of Orvieto in Umbria.

Offered for sale on this USMBOOKS webpage is a rare 100% original piece of ephemera from the L’Accademia Fascista di Orvieto. It is a beautifully designed and printed folder or folio produced to store the lyrics to the Giovinezza in Marcia (the official hymn of the Italian National Fascist Party, and the unofficial national anthem of the Kingdom of Italy between 1924 and 1943), as well as notes and other papers collected during the annual ski event of the Fascist Academy in Orvieto.

The 6 x 8-1/8 inch quaderno or notebook shows female Balilla girls with skis on the front cover and a group of them in a black & white photo on the back panel. The back panel also has a Mussolini quote about the importance of women contributing to the Italian Fascist movement.

The striking art on the front cover was by famous Italian illustrator Mario Puppo (1905-1970) and the colors are still vibrant - not faded - as the piece was never used and stored carefully after World War II. The space below the picture is empty, no participant’s name was ever written in it.