January 2007
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Quaderni d italianistica
the following essay is divided into three inter-woven parts. The first deals with the ravage of the Great Depression in Canada; the second explores the Canadian clerical and secular establishment's view of fascism and its local Italian proponents; the last part unravels the cozy collaboration in Montreal among local Italian fascists, the Italian Consulate, the priests of the Italian Catholic Parish Madonna della Difesa and the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, which was in charge of assisting needy people across the city. In 1932, with the approval of the Parish priest, Zanobri Manfriani, the Society gave the task of dispensing relief to Catholic Italians of the Mile End district to the local Italian fascio Luporini and its leader Ottorino Incoronato. After a few months, Incoronato, to avoid being charged with fraud, left Canada in a hurry, for good.