10. Under Mussolini sports were avidly followed by Italians
Mussolini emphasized participation in competitive sports as a means of establishing Italian superiority over other nations, another embodiment of the new Italian man. Chief among the sports which he stressed was international football. Mussolini’s use of sports as another form of propaganda was another aspect of his regime which was adopted by Hitler, which culminated in the Nazi production of the 1936 Olympic Games. Mussolini too used organized sports as a program to help Italy dig itself out of the Great Depression, with government-funded projects to recover land and erect soccer stadiums and other sports facilities. In 1934 the Italians won the World Cup, defeating the Czechoslovakians to become the second World Cup champions on their home pitch in Rome.
Automobile racing in Europe became highly nationalized during the 1930s, and the Italians participated in the sport with fervor. Racing teams adopted national colors, blue for the French, green for the British, white for the Germans and the Italians adopted red. Governments subsidized their racing teams in France, Germany, and Italy as a means of displaying their technological prowess. By 1935 the German teams were dominating European racing, but the Italians weren’t far behind, and the Italian Grand Prix became one of the most prestigious races of the year. Italian racing drivers and engineers became national heroes during Mussolini’s regime, including a man by the name of Enzo Ferrari, who raced for Alfa Romeo before founding his own company in the 1930s.