The Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy have released a stamp honoring Italo Foschi, the first president and founder of AS Roma. However, the celebration has sparked debate because of Foschi's controversial past. Treccani's Italian Biographical Dictionary describes Foschi as a "fascist and a squadrista". Former minister Carlo Giovanardi, a member of MIMIT's Council that expresses views on new stamp issues, brought the case. Foschi was expelled from the Fascist Party for excessive squadrism following the murder of Giacomo Matteotti, the Unitary Socialist Party's secretary, in 1924. Following the fall of fascism, he joined the Italian Social Republic (RSI) and served as "Head of the Province" in Belluno, which was effectively annexed by the Nazi Third Reich, from September 24 to November 4, 1943. On the 140th anniversary of his birth, the commemorative stamp in Foschi's honor has sparked debate, especially since it was issued a few days after the one dedicated to the socialist deputy Matteotti, who was assassinated by fascists.
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