Original 1960 Reproduction: Only One Available. Most likely manufactured in the 1960s for reenactment or theatrical purposes, this is still a very handsome helmet and will fill a hole in any Italian Military collection.

This excellent condition fez features a gold bullion embroidered eagle symbol to front, gold rope braid and two stars to the left side. It is approximately size 59 cm (7 3/8) and comes complete with long braid tassel. Excellent eye catching item for any WW2 Italian collection.

The Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza NSDAPonale (MVSN, "Voluntary Militia for National Security"), commonly called the Blackshirts (Italian: camicie nere, CCNN) or squadristi, was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party and, after 1923, an all-volunteer militia of the Kingdom of Italy. Its members were distinguished by their black uniforms (modelled on those of the Arditi, Italy's elite troops of World War I) and their loyalty to Benito Mussolini, the Duce (leader) of Fascism, to whom they swore an oath. The founders of the paramilitary groups were nationalist intellectuals, former army officers and young landowners opposing peasants' and country labourers' unions. Their methods became harsher as Mussolini's power grew, and they used violence and intimidation against Mussolini's opponents. In 1943 the MVSN was integrated into the Italian armed forces.

History of the black shirts:

Blackshirt, Italian Camicia Nera, plural Camicie Nere, member of any of the armed squads of Italian Fascists under Benito Mussolini, who wore black shirts as part of their uniform.

The first squads—each of which was called Squadre d’Azione (Action Squad)—were organized in March 1919 to destroy the political and economic organizations of socialists. By the end of 1920 the Blackshirts were attacking and destroying the organizations not only of socialists but also of communists, republicans, Catholics, trade unionists, and those in cooperatives, and hundreds of people were killed as the Fascist squads expanded in number. A Fascist convention in Naples on October 24, 1922, provided the pretext for the contingent of armed Blackshirts from all over the country for the famous March on Rome that put Mussolini into power.

Early the next year, on February 1, 1923, the private Blackshirts were officially transformed into a national militia, the Voluntary Fascist Militia for National Security. The black shirt was worn not only by these military Fascists but also by other Fascists and their sympathizers, especially on patriotic occasions. With the fall of Mussolini in 1943, however, the black shirt and the Blackshirts fell into disgrace.