Description

An attractively designed book for children with poetry in Italian language was issued under the Fascist government in 1933. The first poem is dedicated to the members of the Fascist youth organisation Opera Nazionale Balilla and to Mussolini.

Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB) was active between 1926 and 1937, when it was absorbed into the Gioventù Italiana del Littorio (GIL). Balilla was an organisation for boys, ages 8 to 14, as the girls’ organisation was called Piccole Italiane.

A famous model of Fiat car, called Fiat Balilla, launched in 1932, was called after this organisation.

The illustrations were made by an Italian painter Alberto Micheli Pellegrini (1870-1943), who was known for his landscapes in illustrations in female magazines.

The book was issued in the series Grandi picoli libri (Big small books).

References: OCLC 61060069.