Jump to content

Grand Orient of Italy

Coordinates: 41°53′57″N 12°28′31″E / 41.8992°N 12.4753°E / 41.8992; 12.4753
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Grande Oriente d'Italia)

Grande Oriente d'Italia
Formation1805; 219 years ago (1805)
TypeMasonic Grand Lodge
HeadquartersIl Vascello,
Via San Pancrazio 8,
00152 Rome
Location
  • Italy
Grand Master
Antonio Seminario
Websitegrandeoriente.it

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 [it].[2] Its current Grand Master is Antonio Seminario.[3]

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]

History

[edit]

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:

Freemasonry was suppressed by Mussolini in 1925, being restarted after the Second World War.[10] Nevertheless, many people connected with the Italian 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

[edit]

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within international Freemasonry, and in 1972 it was recognised as regular by UGLE.[12] However, this recognition was withdrawn in 1993, due to accusations of corruption and Mafia involvement.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

[edit]

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) 		20 December 1859 20 May 1860 † Genoa, Piedmont-Sardinia Patriot
3 Livio Zambeccari
(1802–1862) 		21 May 1860 3 October 1861 Bologna, Papal States Naturalist, patriot
4 Costantino Nigra
(1828–1907) 		8 October 1861 31 January 1862 Castelnuovo, Piedmont-Sardinia Italian Ambassador to Austria-Hungary (1885–1887)
5 Filippo Cordova
(1811–1868) 		1 March 1862 6 August 1863 Aidone, Kingdom of Naples Minister of Justice (1862)
6 Celestino Peroglio
(1824–1909) 		6 August 1863 24 May 1864 Palestro, Lombardy–Venetia Teacher
7 Giuseppe Garibaldi
(1807–1882) 		24 May 1864 8 August 1864 Nice, Piedmont-Sardinia Member of the Chamber of Deputies (1861–1882)
8 Francesco De Luca
(1811–1875) 		September 1864 20 June 1867 Cardinale, Kingdom of Naples Member of the Chamber of Deputies (1861–1874)
Filippo Cordova
(1811–1868) 		21 June 1867 2 August 1867 Aidone, Kingdom of Naples Minister of Justice (1867)
9 Lodovico Frapolli
(1815–1878) 		2 August 1867 7 September 1870 Milan, Lombardy–Venetia Member of the Chamber of Deputies (1860–1874)
10 Giuseppe Mazzoni
(1808–1880) 		7 September 1870 11 May 1880 † Prato, Tuscany Founder of P2; Senator of the Kingdom (1876–1880)
11 Giuseppe Petroni
(1812–1888) 		12 May 1880 16 January 1885 Bologna, Papal States Lawyer
12 Adriano Lemmi
(1822–1906) 		17 January 1885 31 May 1896 Livorno, Tuscany Banker, businessman
13 Ernesto Nathan
(1845–1921) 		1 June 1896 14 February 1904 London, UK Co-founder of Dante Alighieri Society; later Mayor of Rome (1907–1913)
14 Ettore Ferrari
(1845–1929) 		15 February 1904 25 November 1917 Rome, Papal States Sculptor
Ernesto Nathan
(1845–1921) 		26 November 1917 22 June 1919 London, UK Co-founder of Dante Alighieri Society; later Mayor of Rome (1907–1913)
15 Domizio Torrigiani
(1876–1932) 		23 June 1919 23 April 1927 Lamporecchio, Italy Lawyer
/ Eugenio Chiesa
(1863–1930) 		12 January 1930 22 June 1930 † Milan, Italy Member of the Chamber of Deputies (1904–1929)
/ Arturo Labriola
(1873–1959) 		23 June 1930 29 November 1931 Naples, Italy Member of the Chamber of Deputies (1913–1929)
16 Alessandro Tedeschi
(1867–1940) 		32 August 1932 19 August 1940 † Livorno, Italy Surgeon
17 Davide Augusto Albarin
(1881–1959) 		19 August 1940 10 June 1944 Paris, French Empire Anti-fascist activist
18 Guido Laj
(1880–1948) 		18 September 1945 5 November 1948 † Messina, Italy Journalist, politician
19 Ugo Lenzi
(1875–1953) 		19 March 1949 21 April 1953 † Bologna, Italy Lawyer
20 Publio Cortini
(1895–1969) 		4 October 1953 27 September 1956 Rome, Italy Businessman, engineer
21 Umberto Cipollone
(1883–1960) 		30 November 1957 28 May 1960 † Lanciano, Italy Lawyer
22 Giorgio Tron
(1884–1963) 		29 May 1960 28 April 1961 Villar Pellice, Italy Surgeon
23 Giordano Gamberini
(1915–2003) 		17 July 1961 21 March 1970 Ravenna, Italy Writer, politician
24 Lino Salvini
(1925–1982) 		22 March 1970 18 November 1978 Florence, Italy Writer, politician
25 Ennio Battelli
(1919–1984) 		18 November 1978 27 March 1982 Urbino, Italy Businessman, military officer
26 Armando Corona
(1921–2009) 		28 March 1982 10 March 1990 Villaputzu, Italy Businessman, politician
27 Giuliano Di Bernardo
(1939–) 		11 March 1990 16 April 1993 Penne, Italy Philosopher, writer
28 Virgilio Gaito
(1930–) 		18 December 1993 21 March 1999 Naples, Italy Lawyer
29 Gustavo Raffi
(1944–) 		21 March 1999 6 April 2014 Bagnacavallo, Italy Lawyer
30 Stefano Bisi
(1957–) 		6 April 2014 6 April 2024 Siena, Italy Journalist, writer
31 Antonio Seminario
(1958–) 		6 April 2024 "incumbent" Crosia, Italy Businessman

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "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
  2. ^ Headquarters detailed.
  3. ^ See section "Government", on GOI about us page.
  4. ^ See Members & Lodges.
  5. ^ a b Ponziano, Giorgio (30 March 2012). "Tremila massoni al Palacongresso" [Three thousand Masons at Palacongresso]. Italia Oggi (in Italian). Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  6. ^ Garibaldi — the mason Translated from Giuseppe Garibaldi Massone by the Grand Orient of Italy
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ Entry "Giuseppe Mazzini" in Volume III K – P of 10,000 Famous Freemasons, William R. Denslow, 1957, Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., Inc.
  9. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). "Nathan, Ernesto" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 31 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. p. 1059.
  10. ^ Centuries of Secrecy, Time, June 8, 1981
  11. ^ Marcello Veneziani. "To arms we are fascists, indeed Freemasons" (in Italian).
  12. ^ a b What was the P2 Lodge?, Anti-masonry Frequently Asked Questions, Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon
  13. ^ "United Grand Lodge of England » Europe". Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012. UGLE: Recognised Grand Lodges in Europe
  14. ^ "Grand Lodge of Albania is recognised". United Grand Lodge of England. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2018. UGLE...has publicly stated that it accepts the Grand Orient's regularity of origin...
  15. ^ "United Grand Lodge of England » Foreign Grand Lodges". Retrieved 15 March 2023. UGLE: Recognised Grand Lodges in Europe

Bibliography

[edit]
  • 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)
[edit]

41°53′57″N 12°28′31″E / 41.8992°N 12.4753°E / 41.8992; 12.4753

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grand_Orient_of_Italy&oldid=1253561394"