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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 Antonio Seminario.[3]
 | |
| Formation | 1805 |
|---|---|
| Type | Masonic Grand Lodge |
| Headquarters | Il Vascello, Via San Pancrazio 8, 00152 Rome |
| Location |
|
Grand Master | Antonio Seminario |
| Website | grandeoriente.it |
As of September 2015[update] the Grand Orient had 22,675 members in 842 lodges,[4] a significant growth over the preceding three-year period.[5]
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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 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]
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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within international Freemasonry, and in 1972 it was recognised as regular by UGLE.[12] However, this recognition was withdrawn in 1993, due to accusations of corruption and Mafia involvement.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]
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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 |
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