Brothers, honorourable men and clients. Masonry and politics in Calabria in the period of the liberal government

di Fulvio Conti
in Memoria e Ricerca n.s. 4 (1999), p. 111

From 1860 to the fascist rise to power Calabria was one of the Italian regions with the highest number of masonic lodges. They were prominent in the political life in the region and many of their members achieved important positions in parliament or in local governments. Masonry played an ambiguous role: on the one hand it helped create mutual aid and credit associations, so contributing to the advancement of modern and democratic ideas in the social and political contest of that time; on the other hand it was moved by an obscure tendency to mediation and interchange, regardless of any ideal principle and mainly concerned with controlling local power through a patron-client system. The essay examines these aspects and adds a detailed picture of the lodges acting in the region and the social and professional background of their members.