Original Item. Only One Available. The Voluntary Militia for National Security (Italian: Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts (Italian: Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: Camicia Nera) or squadristi (singular: squadrista), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Facist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-volunteer Militia of the Kingdom of Italy under Fascist rule, similar to the SA in Germany. Its members were distinguished by their black uniforms (modelled on those of the Arditi, Italy's elite troops of World War I) and their loyalty to Benito Mussolini, the Dice (leader) of Fascism, to whom they swore an oath.

The founders of the paramilitary groups were nationalist intellectuals, former army officers and young landowners opposing peasants' and country labourers' unions. Their methods became harsher as Mussolini's power grew, and they used violence and intimidation against Mussolini's opponents. In 1943, following the fall of the Fascist regime, the MVSN was integrated into the Royal Italian Army and disbanded.

This is a very scarce piece, an Italian MVSN officer’s brocade belt & buckle. The belt is covered in two rows of gold tape with a row of black between them. The keeper is retained, but very much of the stitching linking the top layer to the underlying white layer is gone.

The buckle on this example has large M V S N bubble letters in each corner, which we have not been able to find another example of. 

A gorgeous belt, the first we have offered, ready for further research and display.