However, the Federazione Italiana Rugby proved resistant to manipulation and the fascists quickly ceased their support.
Officially, the rules were based on long-extinct codes of football indigenous to Italy, especially the Roman harpastum and the medieval calcio fiorentino.
[citation needed] However, the enduring popularity of association football caused the fascists to change their attitude toward the sport.
The popularity of rugby and its place within Italian sporting culture appear to have been reduced by the changing policies of the fascists, as well as the invention of volata.
Nevertheless, rugby survived the fascist period and began to grow when Italy was occupied by British Commonwealth forces during 1943–47.