I sottosegretari alla Giustizia del Regime. Itinerario storico verso la fascistizzazione delle istituzioni

This paper examines the role of the undersecretaries of Justice during the Fascist regime, reconstructing their political and institutional profiles and assessing their contribution to the process of fascistization of the State. Drawing on archival and historiographical research, the study challenges the reductive interpretation that portrays them as mere executors of ministerial delegations, instead highlighting their differentiated—yet significant—participation in the construction of the Fascist legal order. The analysis focuses on the figures of Fulvio Milani, Paolo Mattei Gentili, Giuseppe Morelli, Antonio Albertini, Cesare Tumedei, and Antonio Putzolu, emphasizing the intersections between legal culture, political affiliation, and governmental responsibility. While in the early years the focus was on the relationships between Fascism, the Popular Party, and the Holy See, in the mature phase of the regime there was a gradual integration between law and politics, culminating in Putzolu’s work, who interpreted the pragmatization of fascist ideals in civil codification and in the administration of justice.