This is the first comprehensive exploration of agricultural policy in Fascist Italy. Drawing on a wealth of sources, it describes the major agricultural campaigns of the Fascists and situates them in the economic and social context of the times. A further central focus is on the ideological notions fueling Fascist 'ruralism' and the question of the exercise of power in rural areas. It transpires that the policy of autarchy was in itself largely successful, whereas the regime's objectives in the field of social and settlement policy came to nothing. After initially effective mobilization drives, the mid thirties saw an increasing loss of identification with Fascism among the rural population.