I never want to see umbrellas around me." he [Mussolini] once said. "The umbrella is a bourgeois relic, it is the arm used by the pope's soldiers. A people who carry umbrellas cannot found an empire.

David I. Kertzer
About This Quote

Benito Mussolini said that he never wanted to see an umbrella around him. Umbrellas have been a symbol of the bourgeoisie for a long time. The bourgeoisie is a class considered inferior to the upper classes. These people are either too snooty or too well-off to be seen with an umbrella in public. Mussolini felt that if he were ever to be seen with an umbrella, he would be demonstrating his class status and showing everyone who was better than him.

Source: The Pope And Mussolini: The Secret History Of Pius Xi And The Rise Of Fascism In Europe

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