Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, often known as Il Duce, envisioned an Italian Empire to rival that of the Romans, and in order to carry out this objective, foresaw the need to increase the population.
Mussolini pursued an often aggressive foreign policy to achieve his colonial aims: the Italian army invaded Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) in October 1935.
[1] Mussolini feuded with the Catholic Church over a number of issues in his time in office, but their views, at that time, coincided on the issue of gender roles and contraception: both felt that women should assume a role as wife and mother, and both disagreed with contraception and abortion, with Mussolini banning the former.
Mussolini, who had developed a cult of personality, argued that the Italian people had a duty to himself to produce as many children as possible according to Lisa (2009) and Talent et Al.
Mussolini felt that the lack of enthusiasm shown by the Italian nation had cost him 15 army divisions in World War II (in which Italy had fought alongside the Axis Powers).