“The last crusade”? The Italian public opinion in front of the conquest of Jerusalem in 1917

This chapter aims at observing the reactions of the Italian institutions and the public opinion in front of the conquest of Jerusalem in 1917, in order to observe how and to what extent the word ‘crusade’ was used to define and interpret this event in the Italian political debate. To present a complete picture, the chapter also discusses the refusals to define the event as a crusade. The subject will be investigated by analysing printed sources such as newspapers, magazines and propaganda leaflets, which also inform about public meetings. Due to the extensiveness of the subject matter, this chapter will focus on the behaviour of Italian institutions, the heterogeneous currents of secular interventionism, and finally on the clergy and Catholic public opinion, considering the position of the Holy See on the event.