Carlo Costamagna

Carlo Costamagna (21 September 1881 – 1 March 1965) was an Italian lawyer and academic noted as a theorist of corporatism. He worked closely with Benito Mussolini and his fascist movement. Costamagna was born in Quiliano, Italy.

Path to fascism After studying law, Costamagna joined the fascist movement in 1920 and in 1924 was appointed National Secretary of Technical Councils. Politically Costamagna was highly conservative and saw fascism as a transitory phase that existed only for the imposition of corporatism.

Academic career As an academic, he was appointed Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Ferrara in 1927, going on to hold similar posts at the University of Pisa and the University of Rome.

Government work Alongside his role in the academic world, Costamagna was also involved at various levels of politics in Fascist Italy. Between 1926 and 1927 he was involved in drafting a series of laws with fellow legal expert Alfredo Rocco and economist Giuseppe Bottai designed to convert Italy to a fascist state. He then moved on to take a leading role in the Ministry of Corporations.

Post-war Costamagna did not face prison for his involvement in the fascist government after the Second World War but he was barred from any university involvement as a consequence. He was involved in the formation of the Italian Social Movement and, with his combination of conservative ideals, corporatist econeconomics, Evola-inspired mysticism, became one of the leading exponents of the Italian version of the Conservative Revolutionary movement.