FOREWORD: EL PRÍNCIPE DE BENITO MUSSOLINI

Abstract

Machiavelli's legacy extends to the present day. In the twentieth century it was a popular and mandatory lecture
for politicians of his time, who extracted the Florentine Secretary useful lessons for political action and reflected
on his ideal legacy. One of the followers of Machiavelli was Benito Mussolini, Italian socialist leader and founder
of the fascist movement in 1919. The positions of Mussolini on the author Prince are condensed in an essay
published in 1924: "Prelude to Machiavelli". Through an analysis of this writing in the context of thought and
political work of Mussolini in his time, is proposed here a reading of the figure of the Italian dictator as a
manifestation of the "Prince" in modern times especially (but not only) in the aspect of political pragmatism and
understanding of politics as "the art of governing." It shows the different possible readings of Machiavelli's work,
including in this case the defense of strong authoritarian leadership and pragmatism for the management of the
Republic.