Tacchi Venturi
Encyclopedia
Pietro Tacchi Venturi was a Jesuit priest and historian who served as the unofficial liaison between Benito Mussolini
and popes Pius XI
and Pius XII
. He was also one of the architects of the 1929 Lateran Treaty, wherein Italy recognized the sovereignty of Vatican City
, ending the "Roman Question
" and making Roman Catholicism the state religion of Italy. An attempt to assassinate Venturi with a paper knife one year before the treaty's completion made headlines around the world. Venturi himself had begun the process of reconciliation by convincing Mussolini to donate the library of the Palazzo Chigi
to the Vatican.
According to Susan Zuccotti
, Venturi "had an uncanny ability to gain access where more official papal diplomats could not" and thus was utilized for some of the most important papal priorities. Venturi had no official rank in the church to match his extraordinary influence, and was known in Vatican circles as the "man in black".
was a history of the Jesuits.
Venturi's another important work was the publication of previously unpublished writings of Matteo Ricci
, arguably the most important founding figure of Jesuit China missions
. The Opere storiche del P. Matteo Ricci, S.J (Historical Works of Fr. Matteo Ricci, S.J.) appeared in two volumes in 1911 and 1913, and included Ricci's letters as well as his Commentarj della Cina (Commentary on China), the Italian
manuscript that had been previously published only in the expanded and edited Latin version of Nicolas Trigault
(as De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas
). However, Venturi's lack of knowledge of Chinese made it necessary for Fr. Pasquale d'Elia to produce another, better annotated edition of Ricci's manuscripts (known as Fonti Ricciane) some 30 years later, in the 1940s.
Venturi was the official historian of the Italian branch of the Jesuit order and the Secretary of the Society of Jesus from 1914 to 1921. Venturi was admitted into the Pontifical Academy of Archaeology
and other scientific bodies.
Mussolini "liked and trusted" Venturi, whom he had known since 1922, during the Fascist struggle for power. The friendship between the two predated Mussolini's rise to power. He thus became the "normal instrument for messages between the pope and Mussolini". Venturi's relationship with Mussolini became professional when Pius XI chose him to negotiate the purchase of the ancient library of the Palazzo Chigi
from the newly created Fascist regime (the Italian government was on the verge of buying the collection). Venturi persuaded Mussolini to donate an ancient state collection of religious books to the Vatican free of charge. Vatican attempts to buy the texts date back to Pope Benedict XV
, who lacked the requisite funds to complete the transaction.
Mussolini's donation became the start of the process of reconciliation between the Italian government and the papacy, which had been at odds since the Risorgimento seized the Papal States
. Along with Count Galeazzo Ciano
, Mussolini's son-in-law, Venturi served as the unofficial, yet authoritative "intermediary between Palazzo Venezia
and the Vatican". Venturi was also the personal Confessor
of Mussolini and an adviser to the Duce on religious matters generally. His political views could generally be classified as a strain of Clerico-Fascism.
", Venturi survived an attempted assassination by "Signor De Angelis" with a paper knife, receiving only a neck laceration when he ducked out the way. Two years later, another priest similar to Venturi in appearance was killed.
The New York Times described Venturi as the "chief negotiator, who remains in the dark and is almost unknown". Noting Pius XI and Mussolini's penchant for privacy regarding the negotiations, the Times continued to describe Venturi as "a quiet man who could tell much" yet refused to acknowledge that he was any more than "Mussolini's personal messenger to the Vatican". Nominally, Francesco Pacelli
(the brother of Eugenio Pacelli, future Pope Pius XII) became the chief negotiator and Venturi his intermediary with Mussolini during the final stages of the negotiation (after the death of State Councilor Domenico Barone). The other negotiators were Francesco Borgongini Duca
, the Vatican's Secretary of Extraordinary Affairs, and Professor Gianinni Barone, the brother of Domenico; however, Venturi himself was the originator of the negotiations.New York Times. 1929, January 15. "Italy Offers Pope Additional Land and Indemnity". p. 1.
Venturi received the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
from the Italian monarchy in 1932 for his role in negotiating the treaty. Francesco Borgongini Duca
, the nuncio to Italy from 1929–1953, supplemented Venturi as the official liaison between Pius XII and Mussolini, but Venturi retained his influence.
, the Italian branch of Catholic Action
. Venturi was granted an unheard of hour-long audience with the pontiff during his summer vacation, and then an additional meeting with Cardinal Secretary of State Pacelli. The Vatican claimed that Venturi was merely "preparing the ground for official negotiation". Don Luigi Sturzo
himself credits Venturi with ending the dispute.
Mussolini allowed the 15,000 youth organizations to reopen, but they were required to affiliate closely with the official Fascist youth organization, Opera Nazionale Balilla
.New York Times. 1931, August 27. "Mussolini to Make Peace with Vatican". p. 1. The terms of the agreement were meant to give the Vatican a role in "Fascist Youth Education" and required that the Catholic organization be devolved to the diocesan level, with no centralized hierarchy, and that chaplains be attached to the Balilla chapters. Venturi himself sat in on the final meeting between Mussolini and the pope.
. Specifically, Venturi sought the lifting of the ban on marriages between "Aryans" and "non-Aryans".
Upon the election of Pius XII by the papal conclave, 1939
, it was announced that Dom
Francesco Tomasetti (d. May 5, 1953), the procurator general of the Salesian Order, would replace Venturi as the unofficial messenger between the pope and Mussolini after "a struggle of another kind, less open but having many of the same elements as that over the choice of Secretary of State". Venturi remained the official representative to various Italian government agencies such as the heads of police and general board of demographics and race. On a few occasions, Venturi used this influence to spare Catholic converts from Judaism from the Holocaust
. Michael Phayer
documents one such occasion where Venturi intervened on behalf of Croatian converts. Venturi is otherwise little mentioned in Phayer's book, referred to simply as a "Jesuit rescuer".
On the eve of World War II, Venturi persuaded Mussolini to give his approval to Pius XII's plan to mediate between the Five Powers. Through Venturi, who continued to be "very important" to Pius XII because of his weight with Mussolini, Pius XII communicated to the Italian government his disapproval of the French and British alliance with Soviet Russia, a government with whom the Vatican has no relations. Pius XII also sent Venturi to Brussels for mediation negotiations. Venturi was a key player in the negotiations, though they accomplished nothing.
, Mussolini's successor, was contemplating a complete rescission of Italy's anti-Jewish laws, Venturi met with the Secretary of the Interior and requested that only the portions affecting Jewish converts to Catholicism
be repealed. In doing so, Venturi was advancing the position of Pius XII, as he later reported to Cardinal Secretary of State Luigi Maglione. Venturi assured Maglione:
, Venturi recommended to the Vatican Secretariat a "symbolic and therefore sham inquiry into the fate of the Jews of Rome". He reasoned, "a step like this by the Holy See, even if it does not obtain the desired effect, will without doubt help increase the veneration and gratitude toward the August Person of the Holy Father".
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
and popes Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
and Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
. He was also one of the architects of the 1929 Lateran Treaty, wherein Italy recognized the sovereignty of Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
, ending the "Roman Question
Roman Question
thumb|300px|The breach of [[Porta Pia]], on the right, in a contemporaneous photograph.The Roman Question was a political dispute between the Italian Government and the Papacy from 1861 to 1929....
" and making Roman Catholicism the state religion of Italy. An attempt to assassinate Venturi with a paper knife one year before the treaty's completion made headlines around the world. Venturi himself had begun the process of reconciliation by convincing Mussolini to donate the library of the Palazzo Chigi
Palazzo Chigi
The Palazzo Chigi is a palace or noble residence in Rome, overlooking the Piazza Colonna and the Via del Corso. It was begun in 1562 by Giacomo della Porta and completed by Carlo Maderno in 1580 for the Aldobrandini family. In 1659 it was purchased by the Chigi family. It was then remodelled by...
to the Vatican.
According to Susan Zuccotti
Susan Zuccotti
Dr. Susan Sessions Zuccotti is an American historian, specializing in studies of the Holocaust. She holds a PhD in Modern European History from Columbia University. She has won a National Jewish Book Award for Holocaust Studies, and the Premio Acqui Storia – Primo Lavoro for Italians and the...
, Venturi "had an uncanny ability to gain access where more official papal diplomats could not" and thus was utilized for some of the most important papal priorities. Venturi had no official rank in the church to match his extraordinary influence, and was known in Vatican circles as the "man in black".
Early life (1861-1922)
Venturi was a Jesuit, with an established a reputation as a scholar of history and literature. His magnum opusMasterpiece
Masterpiece in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship....
was a history of the Jesuits.
Venturi's another important work was the publication of previously unpublished writings of Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci, SJ was an Italian Jesuit priest, and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China Mission, as it existed in the 17th-18th centuries. His current title is Servant of God....
, arguably the most important founding figure of Jesuit China missions
Jesuit China missions
The history of the missions of the Jesuits in China is part of the history of relations between China and the Western world. The missionary efforts and other work of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, between the 16th and 17th century played a significant role in continuing the transmission of...
. The Opere storiche del P. Matteo Ricci, S.J (Historical Works of Fr. Matteo Ricci, S.J.) appeared in two volumes in 1911 and 1913, and included Ricci's letters as well as his Commentarj della Cina (Commentary on China), the Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
manuscript that had been previously published only in the expanded and edited Latin version of Nicolas Trigault
Nicolas Trigault
Nicolas Trigault was a Flemish Jesuit, and a missionary to China. He was also known by his latinised name Trigautius or Trigaultius, and his Chinese name Jīn Nígé .-Life and work:...
(as De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas
De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas
De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas suscepta ab Societate Jesu is a book based on an Italian manuscript written by the most important founding figure of the Jesuit China mission, Matteo Ricci , expanded and translated into Latin by his colleague Nicolas Trigault...
). However, Venturi's lack of knowledge of Chinese made it necessary for Fr. Pasquale d'Elia to produce another, better annotated edition of Ricci's manuscripts (known as Fonti Ricciane) some 30 years later, in the 1940s.
Venturi was the official historian of the Italian branch of the Jesuit order and the Secretary of the Society of Jesus from 1914 to 1921. Venturi was admitted into the Pontifical Academy of Archaeology
Pontifical Academy of Archaeology
The Pontifical Academy of Archaeology is an academic honorary society established in Rome by the Catholic Church for the advancement of Christian archaeological study...
and other scientific bodies.
Chigi library donation (1922)
Palazzo Chigi
The Palazzo Chigi is a palace or noble residence in Rome, overlooking the Piazza Colonna and the Via del Corso. It was begun in 1562 by Giacomo della Porta and completed by Carlo Maderno in 1580 for the Aldobrandini family. In 1659 it was purchased by the Chigi family. It was then remodelled by...
from the newly created Fascist regime (the Italian government was on the verge of buying the collection). Venturi persuaded Mussolini to donate an ancient state collection of religious books to the Vatican free of charge. Vatican attempts to buy the texts date back to Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV , born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, reigned as Pope from 3 September 1914 to 22 January 1922...
, who lacked the requisite funds to complete the transaction.
Mussolini's donation became the start of the process of reconciliation between the Italian government and the papacy, which had been at odds since the Risorgimento seized the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
. Along with Count Galeazzo Ciano
Galeazzo Ciano
Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari was an Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Benito Mussolini's son-in-law. In early 1944 Count Ciano was shot by firing squad at the behest of his father-in-law, Mussolini under pressure from Nazi Germany.-Early life:Ciano was born in...
, Mussolini's son-in-law, Venturi served as the unofficial, yet authoritative "intermediary between Palazzo Venezia
Palazzo Venezia
The Palazzo di Venezia is a palazzo in central Rome, Italy, just north of the Capitoline Hill. The original structure of this great architectural complex consisted of a modest medieval house intended as the residence of the cardinals appointed to the Church of San Marco...
and the Vatican". Venturi was also the personal Confessor
Confessor
-Confessor of the Faith:Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith, but not to the point of death. The term is still used in this way in the East. In Latin Christianity it has come to signify any saint, as well as those who have been declared...
of Mussolini and an adviser to the Duce on religious matters generally. His political views could generally be classified as a strain of Clerico-Fascism.
Lateran Treaties (1927-1929)
In May 1928, already internationally known as a negotiator of the Lateran Treaty on the resolution of the "Roman QuestionRoman Question
thumb|300px|The breach of [[Porta Pia]], on the right, in a contemporaneous photograph.The Roman Question was a political dispute between the Italian Government and the Papacy from 1861 to 1929....
", Venturi survived an attempted assassination by "Signor De Angelis" with a paper knife, receiving only a neck laceration when he ducked out the way. Two years later, another priest similar to Venturi in appearance was killed.
The New York Times described Venturi as the "chief negotiator, who remains in the dark and is almost unknown". Noting Pius XI and Mussolini's penchant for privacy regarding the negotiations, the Times continued to describe Venturi as "a quiet man who could tell much" yet refused to acknowledge that he was any more than "Mussolini's personal messenger to the Vatican". Nominally, Francesco Pacelli
Francesco Pacelli
Francesco Pacelli, the older brother of Eugenio Pacelli the future Pope Pius XII was born in Rome on February 1, 1872. He died in Rome on April 22, 1935...
(the brother of Eugenio Pacelli, future Pope Pius XII) became the chief negotiator and Venturi his intermediary with Mussolini during the final stages of the negotiation (after the death of State Councilor Domenico Barone). The other negotiators were Francesco Borgongini Duca
Francesco Borgongini Duca
Francesco Borgongini Duca was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Nuncio to Italy from 1929 to 1953, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1953 by Pope Pius XII.-Biography:...
, the Vatican's Secretary of Extraordinary Affairs, and Professor Gianinni Barone, the brother of Domenico; however, Venturi himself was the originator of the negotiations.New York Times. 1929, January 15. "Italy Offers Pope Additional Land and Indemnity". p. 1.
Venturi received the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus is an order of chivalry awarded by the House of Savoy, the heads of which were formerly Kings of Italy...
from the Italian monarchy in 1932 for his role in negotiating the treaty. Francesco Borgongini Duca
Francesco Borgongini Duca
Francesco Borgongini Duca was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Nuncio to Italy from 1929 to 1953, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1953 by Pope Pius XII.-Biography:...
, the nuncio to Italy from 1929–1953, supplemented Venturi as the official liaison between Pius XII and Mussolini, but Venturi retained his influence.
Mussolini novel (1929)
At the urging of Venturi, Mussolini wrote a second book—Una Conversione—about his conversion to Catholicism, meant as a sequel to his twenty-year old novel which was extremely critical of the church: Claudia Particella: l'amante del Cardinale: Grande Romanzo dei tempi del Cardinale Emmanuel Madruzzo (translated and published in English as The Cardinal's Mistress). Venturi himself wrote the preface.Catholic Action (1931)
In 1931, Venturi negotiated the end to a dispute between Pius XI and Mussolini regarding, Azione CattolicaAzione Cattolica
The Azione Cattolica Italiana, or Azione Cattolica for short, is a widespread lay Roman Catholic association in Italy.-History:...
, the Italian branch of Catholic Action
Catholic Action
Catholic Action was the name of many groups of lay Catholics who were attempting to encourage a Catholic influence on society.They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries that fell under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, Italy, Bavaria, France, and...
. Venturi was granted an unheard of hour-long audience with the pontiff during his summer vacation, and then an additional meeting with Cardinal Secretary of State Pacelli. The Vatican claimed that Venturi was merely "preparing the ground for official negotiation". Don Luigi Sturzo
Luigi Sturzo
Don Luigi Sturzo was an Italian Catholic priest and politician. Known in his lifetime as a "clerical socialist," Sturzo is considered one of the fathers of Christian democracy. Sturzo was one of the founders of the Partito Popolare Italiano in 1919, but was forced into exile in 1924 with the rise...
himself credits Venturi with ending the dispute.
Mussolini allowed the 15,000 youth organizations to reopen, but they were required to affiliate closely with the official Fascist youth organization, Opera Nazionale Balilla
Opera Nazionale Balilla
thumb|240px|A young balilla in [[Piazza Venezia]].Opera Nazionale Balilla was an Italian Fascist youth organization functioning, as an addition to school education, between 1926 and 1937 .It was named after Balilla, the moniker of Giovan Battista Perasso,...
.New York Times. 1931, August 27. "Mussolini to Make Peace with Vatican". p. 1. The terms of the agreement were meant to give the Vatican a role in "Fascist Youth Education" and required that the Catholic organization be devolved to the diocesan level, with no centralized hierarchy, and that chaplains be attached to the Balilla chapters. Venturi himself sat in on the final meeting between Mussolini and the pope.
Drafting of the Anti-Jewish laws (1938)
Venturi was kept informed by Mussolini during the drafting of Italy's anti-Jewish laws, expressing concerns about the effect of the laws on Catholics, both through mixed marriages and Catholic converts from JudaismConversion of Jews to Catholicism during the Holocaust
The conversion of Jews to Catholicism during the Holocaust is one of the most controversial aspects of the record of Pope Pius XII during The Holocaust....
. Specifically, Venturi sought the lifting of the ban on marriages between "Aryans" and "non-Aryans".
Role under Pius XII (1939-1956)
Papal conclave, 1939
The Papal conclave of 1939 was convoked on the brink of World War II with the death of Pope Pius XI on 10 February that year in the Apostolic Palace. With all 62 living cardinals in attendance, the conclave to elect Pius' successor began on 1 March and ended a day later, on 2 March, after three...
, it was announced that Dom
Dom
- People :* Dom people, an ethnic group in the Middle East* Doms, people of indigenous origin found in the Indian state of West Bengal* Domba or Dom, an ethnic group of India...
Francesco Tomasetti (d. May 5, 1953), the procurator general of the Salesian Order, would replace Venturi as the unofficial messenger between the pope and Mussolini after "a struggle of another kind, less open but having many of the same elements as that over the choice of Secretary of State". Venturi remained the official representative to various Italian government agencies such as the heads of police and general board of demographics and race. On a few occasions, Venturi used this influence to spare Catholic converts from Judaism from the Holocaust
Conversion of Jews to Catholicism during the Holocaust
The conversion of Jews to Catholicism during the Holocaust is one of the most controversial aspects of the record of Pope Pius XII during The Holocaust....
. Michael Phayer
Michael Phayer
Michael Phayer, born 1935, is a historian and professor emeritus at Marquette University in Milwaukee and has written on 19th and 20th century European history and the Holocaust....
documents one such occasion where Venturi intervened on behalf of Croatian converts. Venturi is otherwise little mentioned in Phayer's book, referred to simply as a "Jesuit rescuer".
On the eve of World War II, Venturi persuaded Mussolini to give his approval to Pius XII's plan to mediate between the Five Powers. Through Venturi, who continued to be "very important" to Pius XII because of his weight with Mussolini, Pius XII communicated to the Italian government his disapproval of the French and British alliance with Soviet Russia, a government with whom the Vatican has no relations. Pius XII also sent Venturi to Brussels for mediation negotiations. Venturi was a key player in the negotiations, though they accomplished nothing.
Opposition to repeal of Anti-Jewish laws (1943)
In August 1943, when Marshall Pietro BadoglioPietro Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino was an Italian soldier and politician...
, Mussolini's successor, was contemplating a complete rescission of Italy's anti-Jewish laws, Venturi met with the Secretary of the Interior and requested that only the portions affecting Jewish converts to Catholicism
Conversion of Jews to Catholicism during the Holocaust
The conversion of Jews to Catholicism during the Holocaust is one of the most controversial aspects of the record of Pope Pius XII during The Holocaust....
be repealed. In doing so, Venturi was advancing the position of Pius XII, as he later reported to Cardinal Secretary of State Luigi Maglione. Venturi assured Maglione:
- "I took care not to call for the total abrogation of a law which, according to the principles and traditions of the Catholic Church, certainly has some clauses that should be abolished, but which clearly contains others that have merit and should be confirmed."
The Roman razzia (1943)
After the Roman razziaPope Pius XII and the Roman razzia
Pope Pius XII's response to the Roman razzia—Italian for roundup, or mass deportation of Jews on October 16, 1943—is one of the central issues related to Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust...
, Venturi recommended to the Vatican Secretariat a "symbolic and therefore sham inquiry into the fate of the Jews of Rome". He reasoned, "a step like this by the Holy See, even if it does not obtain the desired effect, will without doubt help increase the veneration and gratitude toward the August Person of the Holy Father".