Achille_Lauro

Achille Lauro

Achille Lauro

Italian businessman and politician (1887–1982)

This article is about the businessman. For the ship, see MS Achille Lauro. For the singer, see Achille Lauro (singer).

Achille Lauro (Italian pronunciation: [aˈkille ˈlauro]; 16 June 1887 – 15 November 1982) was an Italian businessman and politician. He is widely considered one of the main precursors of modern populism in Italian politics. He was nicknamed by his supporters Il Comandante ("The Commander").[1]

Quick Facts Mayor of Naples, Preceded by ...

Biography

Born the fifth of six children of the shipowner Gioacchino and of Laura Cafiero, he was on his part the shipowner and founder of the "Flotta Lauro", based in Southern Italy.

During the decades of Italian Fascist dictatorship (1922–1943), he became a member of the National Fascist Party (PNF) and was named National Counselor of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations, appointed to this position by Galeazzo Ciano, son-in-law of Benito Mussolini himself, who was active in shipping commerce. Also during this period he was named president of the Naples football club SSC Napoli, where he succeeded Giorgio Ascarelli.

After the end of World War II, following an initial participation in the Common Man's Front, he became active in the Italian monarchist movement led by Alfredo Covelli and financially supported the foundation of the Monarchist National Party (PNM), and was for a long time the mayor of Naples.

In 1972, he joined the neo-fascist party Italian Social Movement (MSI).[2] A square in the coastal town of Sorrento is named after him.

References

  1. [1]
    Achille Lauro: perché il cantante ha il nome dello storico sindaco di Napoli, Fanpage
  2. [2]
    David Broder: How Italy’s Far Right Fell in Love with the United States – An Interview with Gregorio Sorgonà, jacobin.com 29 July 2022.
  • Achille Della Ragione. Achille Lauro superstar: la vita, l'impero, la leggenda. Napoli, 2003.
  • Serena Romano. Don Achille, 'o comandante. Milano, 1992.
  • Pietro Zullino. Il Comandante. Milano, 1976.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Achille_Lauro, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.