Grand Orient of Italy
The Grand Orient of Italy (GOI) (Italian: Grande Oriente d'Italia) is an Italian masonic grand lodge founded in 1805; the viceroy Eugene of Beauharnais was instrumental in its establishment.[1] It was based at the Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome, Italy from 1901 until 1985 and is now located at the Villa del Vascello.[2] Its current Grand Master is Italian journalist Stefano Bisi.[3]
 | |
| Formation | 1805 |
|---|---|
| Type | Masonic Grand Lodge |
| Headquarters | Il Vascello, Via San Pancrazio 8, 00152 Rome |
| Location |
|
Grand Master | Stefano Bisi |
| Website | grandeoriente.it |
As of September 2015 the Grand Orient had 22,675 members in 842 lodges,[4] a significant growth over the preceding three-year period.[5]
The international influence of the Grand Orient has decreased since it lost the official recognition of the "Home Grand Lodges" (of England, Ireland, and Scotland) owing to alleged corruption, although it remains regular in government and practice.
History
The Grand Orient of Italy was founded in 1805, during the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy; the viceroy Eugene of Beauharnais was instrumental in its establishment.
Past Grand Masters have included:
- Giuseppe Garibaldi,[6]
- Adriano Lemmi, 1885–96[7]
- Sculptor Ettore Ferrari,[8]
- Mayor of Rome Ernesto Nathan[9]
Freemasonry was suppressed by Mussolini in 1925, being restarted after the Second World War.[10] Nevertheless, many people connected with the Italians Fascism were Freemasons: Edmondo Rossoni, Araldo di Crollalanza, Alfredo De Marsico, Peppino Caradonna, Bernardo Barbiellini Amidei, Aldo Finzi, Balbino Giuliano e Costanzo Ciano, father of Galeazzo, Alberto Beneduce, Giacomo Acerbo, Ezio Maria Gray, and Armando Casalini, among others.[11]
Regularity
Recognition by the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is a key factor in maintaining the status of a Regular Masonic jurisdiction. The Grand Orient of Italy was once a significant player within international Freemasonry, and in 1972 it was recognised as regular by UGLE.[12] However, this recognition was withdrawn in 1993, due to accusations of corruption and Mafia involvement. For thirty years, the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy was the only Italian Grand Lodge recognised by UGLE, or the other home constitutions of Ireland and Scotland.[13] However, the Grand Orient continued to be recognised by a large majority of the other regular masonic jurisdictions, both in Europe and worldwide.
This situation was highly unusual, in that most regular authorities recognised the Grand Orient, but its status was complicated by the lack of recognition from the three most senior jurisdictions, which normally give a lead in terms of international recognition. To further complicate the situation, the United Grand Lodge of England publicly stated that the Grand Orient of Italy was regular in both origins and practices, but that it must (at that time) remain unrecognised due to the issues surrounding alleged corruption.[14]
However, this position was rectified in March 2023, when the United Grand Lodge of England agreed to re-recognise the Grand Orient of Italy alongside the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy.[15]
Propaganda Due, the lodge that investigative journalists have identified as being implicated in the murder of Roberto Calvi, was originally chartered by the Grand Orient, although the Grand Orient revoked its charter in 1974.[12]
List of Grand Masters
Prior to Gustavo Raffi's grand mastership two terms of five years was the maximum tenure for a grand master. This, however was changed during Raffi's time, and his three-term grand mastership which began in 1999 ended in 2014.[5]
| # | Name (Birth-Death) |
Term | Origin | Occupation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eugène de Beauharnais (1781–1824) |
1805 | 1814 | Paris, France | Viceroy of Italy (1805–1814) |
| Lodge suppressed | |||||
| 2 | Filippo Delpino (1779–1860) |
December 20, 1859 | May 20, 1860 † | Genoa, Piedmont-Sardinia | Patriot |
| 3 | Livio Zambeccari (1802–1862) |
May 21, 1860 | October 3, 1861 | Bologna, Papal States | Naturalist, patriot |
| 4 | Costantino Nigra (1828–1907) |
October 8, 1861 | January 31, 1862 | Castelnuovo, Piedmont-Sardinia | Italian Ambassador to Austria-Hungary (1885–1887) |
| 5 | Filippo Cordova (1811–1868) |
March 1, 1862 | August 6, 1863 | Aidone, Kingdom of Naples | Minister of Justice (1862) |
| 6 | Celestino Peroglio (1824–1909) |
August 6, 1863 | May 24, 1864 | Palestro, Lombardy–Venetia | Teacher |
| 7 | Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882) |
May 24, 1864 | August 8, 1864 | Nice, Piedmont-Sardinia | Member of the Chamber of Deputies (1861–1882) |
| 8 | Francesco De Luca (1811–1875) |
September 1864 | June 20, 1867 | Cardinale, Kingdom of Naples | Member of the Chamber of Deputies (1861–1874) |
| Filippo Cordova (1811–1868) |
June 21, 1867 | August 2, 1867 | Aidone, Kingdom of Naples | Minister of Justice (1867) | |
| 9 | Lodovico Frapolli (1815–1878) |
August 2, 1867 | September 7, 1870 | Milan, Lombardy–Venetia | Member of the Chamber of Deputies (1860–1874) |
| 10 | Giuseppe Mazzoni (1808–1880) |
September 7, 1870 | May 11, 1880 † | Prato, Tuscany | Founder of P2; Senator of the Kingdom (1876–1880) |
| 11 | Giuseppe Petroni (1812–1888) |
May 12, 1880 | January 16, 1885 | Bologna, Papal States | Lawyer |
| 12 | Adriano Lemmi (1822–1906) |
January 17, 1885 | May 31, 1896 | Livorno, Tuscany | Banker, businessman |
| 13 | Ernesto Nathan (1845–1921) |
June 1, 1896 | February 14, 1904 | London, UK | Co-founder of Dante Alighieri Society; later Mayor of Rome (1907–1913) |
| 14 | Ettore Ferrari (1845–1929) |
February 15, 1904 | November 25, 1917 | Rome, Papal States | Sculptor |
| Ernesto Nathan (1845–1921) |
November 26, 1917 | June 22, 1919 | London, UK | Co-founder of Dante Alighieri Society; later Mayor of Rome (1907–1913) | |
| 15 | Domizio Torrigiani (1876–1932) |
June 23, 1919 | 23 April 1927 | Lamporecchio, Italy | Lawyer |
| / | Eugenio Chiesa (1863–1930) |
January 12, 1930 | June 22, 1930 † | Milan, Italy | Member of the Chamber of Deputies (1904–1929) |
| / | Arturo Labriola (1873–1959) |
June 23, 1930 | November 29, 1931 | Naples, Italy | Member of the Chamber of Deputies (1913–1929) |
| 16 | Alessandro Tedeschi (1867–1940) |
32 August 1932 | August 19, 1940 † | Livorno, Italy | Surgeon |
| 17 | Davide Augusto Albarin (1881–1959) |
August 19, 1940 | June 10, 1944 | Paris, French Empire | Anti-fascist activist |
| 18 | Guido Laj (1880–1948) |
September 18, 1945 | November 5, 1948 † | Messina, Italy | Journalist, politician |
| 19 | Ugo Lenzi (1875–1953) |
March 19, 1949 | April 21, 1953 † | Bologna, Italy | Lawyer |
| 20 | Publio Cortini (1895–1969) |
October 4, 1953 | September 27, 1956 | Rome, Italy | Businessman, engineer |
| 21 | Umberto Cipollone (1883–1960) |
November 30, 1957 | May 28, 1960 † | Lanciano, Italy | Lawyer |
| 22 | Giorgio Tron (1884–1963) |
May 29, 1960 | April 28, 1961 | Villar Pellice, Italy | Surgeon |
| 23 | Giordano Gamberini (1915–2003) |
July 17, 1961 | March 21, 1970 | Ravenna, Italy | Writer, politician |
| 24 | Lino Salvini (1925–1982) |
March 22, 1970 | November 18, 1978 | Florence, Italy | Writer, politician |
| 25 | Ennio Battelli (1919–1984) |
November 18, 1978 | March 27, 1982 | Urbino, Italy | Businessman, military officer |
| 26 | Armando Corona (1921–2009) |
March 28, 1982 | March 10, 1990 | Villaputzu, Italy | Businessman, politician |
| 27 | Giuliano Di Bernardo (1939–) |
March 11, 1990 | April 16, 1993 | Penne, Italy | Philosopher, writer |
| 28 | Virgilio Gaito (1930–) |
December 18, 1993 | March 21, 1999 | Naples, Italy | Lawyer |
| 29 | Gustavo Raffi (1944–) |
March 21, 1999 | April 6, 2014 | Bagnacavallo, Italy | Lawyer |
| 30 | Stefano Bisi (1957–) |
April 6, 2014 | Incumbent | Siena, Italy | Journalist, writer |
References
- "Nel 1805 fu costituito il Grande Oriente d’Italia." Tran. "In 1805 the Grand Orient of Italy was founded." La storia 1805–1860 Archived December 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, from the GOI Official website
- Headquarters detailed.
- See section "Government", on GOI about us page.
- See Members & Lodges.
- Ponziano, Giorgio (March 30, 2012). "Tremila massoni al Palacongresso" [Three thousand Masons at Palacongresso]. Italia Oggi (in Italian). Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- Garibaldi — the mason Translated from Giuseppe Garibaldi Massone by the Grand Orient of Italy
- Aldo Alessandro Mola “Masons in Italy: The Borderland Between Fanaticism and Liberty”. Revista de Estudios Históricos de la Masonería Latinoamericana y Caribeña (REHMLAC). ISSN 1659-4223. p. 233
- Entry "Giuseppe Mazzini" in Volume III K – P of 10,000 Famous Freemasons, William R. Denslow, 1957, Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., Inc.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 31 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. p. 1059.
- Centuries of Secrecy, Time, June 8, 1981
- Marcello Veneziani. "To arms we are fascists, indeed Freemasons" (in Italian).
- What was the P2 Lodge?, Anti-masonry Frequently Asked Questions, Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon
- "United Grand Lodge of England » Europe". Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2012. UGLE: Recognised Grand Lodges in Europe
- "Grand Lodge of Albania is recognised". United Grand Lodge of England. Archived from the original on June 18, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
UGLE...has publicly stated that it accepts the Grand Orient's regularity of origin...
- "United Grand Lodge of England » Foreign Grand Lodges". Retrieved March 15, 2023. UGLE: Recognised Grand Lodges in Europe
Bibliography
- Enrico Simoni, Bibliografia della Massoneria in Italia, Foggia, Edizioni Bastogi, 1° volume 1992 (3471 schede), 2° volume 1993 (indici sistematici degli articoli delle Riviste massoniche del dopoguerra; 3762 schede), 1° volume di aggiornamento 1997 (schede da 3472 a 4584), 3° volume 2006 (indici sistematici degli articoli della "Rivista della Massoneria Italiana" e della "Rivista Massonica"; 1870–1926; 6478 schede), 2° volume di aggiornamento 2010 (schede da 4585 a 6648)
