New Landscapes

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This chapter looks at efforts—by political elites and ordinary citizens alike—to articulate visions and aspirations for the social order that would follow in Fascism’s wake. It includes debates over the defascistization of laws and institutions, which was hindered by the presence of many former regime officials in the new government; prosecutions for corruption under Mussolini’s regime; efforts by the Catholic Church to establish itself as the preeminent moral authority in Italy; the gradual revival of the free press after decades of repression; and the reorganization of opposition parties, which agitated both for reform and for an exit from the war.</jats:p>