Italy, Fascist State. A Scarce Standard For Italian Volunteers In The Spanish Civil War, C.1936

Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro (OND) Barcelona Faction Standard; A green, white, and red vertical striped banner, centred is a black and white embroidered OND logo (a fasces with “OND” to the right), above “DOPOLAVORO” is embroidered in gold gilt thread, below the OND logo is “CIRCOLO DEL LITTORIO “UMBERTO I” BARCELONA” (CIRCLE OF LICTOR), gold gilt thread fringe at bottom, loop at the top of banner to thread banner pole through, measuring 552.45 mm (w) x 660.4 mm (l); accompanied by a metal banner rod measuring 596.9 mm; metal finial of a fasces encompassed by a laurel wreath tied with a ribbon at the bottom, measuring 127 mm (w) x 133.35 mm (h), in Italian made brown painted case, very fine.

Footnote: The Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro (OND) was established on 1 May 1925 and headed by Mario Giani. It was originally created to provide after work leisure activities for the Italian working class as a way to compete with the Socialists, who had already established a network of cultural organizations. The apolitical and productivist image and ideals of the OND quickly gained the support of both the working class and employers. The OND was modeled after institutions such as the YMCA and originally the OND had no fascist affiliations. In April 1927 the Fascist party secretary, Augusto Turati, dismissed Mario Giani as head, turning the OND into an auxiliary of the Fascist party. In the 1930s, under the direction of Achille Starace, the organization focussed primarily on recreational activities - sports, physical activities and other outings. It had become the state’s largest recreational organization for adults and by the 1930s the program was so popular that it had been responsible for establishing and maintaining 11,000 sports grounds, over 6400 libraries, 800 movie houses, 1200 theatres and over 2000 orchestras. By 1936 an estimated 80 per cent of salaried workers were members. Due to Italy’s ties with Spain, it can be assumed that the OND had factions not only within the country but externally as well. There is not a vast amount of information on the OND.