Abstract Nel 1908 si produsse la più grave scissione all'interno del Rito Scozzese Antico ed Accettato italiano e di conseguenza del Grande Oriente d'Italia, che ebbe come protagonisti principali dei pastori protestanti. La scissione non fu il frutto di una congiura ''protestante'', ma le relazioni evangelmassoniche internazionali degli scissionisti permisero sopravvivere grazie anche ai prestigiosi riconoscimenti internazionali ottenuti. In buona parte il merito può essere attribuito alle grandi doti di abilità politica e allo spasmodico lavoro prodotto dal pastore Saverio Fera e dai suoi più stretti collaboratori, anche se le Chiese a cui appartenevano furono del tutto estranee alla vicenda.

Abstract In 1908 there was a severe schism in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Italy and, consequently, in the Grande Oriente d'Italia. The main actors were protestant pastors. The ''protestant'' conspiracy didn't cause the split, but the international evangelmassoniche relationships of the secessionists helped the new masonic organism survive thanks to their prestigious international awards. The good political qualities and the hard work of pastor Saverio Fera and his close associates made this possible, even if the churches, to which they belonged, had nothing to do with it.

Resumn La moción antimasónica, votada en el congreso del Partido Socialista Italiano (PSI) de 1914, zanjó una polémica en el movimiento socialista desde principios del siglo XX y que había creado una cesura en las relaciones entre las dos organizaciones. Cuando, en 1919, el PSI decidió adherirse a la nueva Internacional comunista, la polémica antimasónica formó parte de los debates en los congresos de antes de la muerte de Lenin. Sobre todo, cuando resultó claro que muchos socialistas-masones se habían adherido al Partido comunista francés, la Internacional, principalmente por voluntad de Trotsky, que adoptó posiciones muy rígidas sobre la cuestión.//The anti-masonic motion, voted in the congress of the Partido Socialista Italiano (PSI) in 1914, it settled a polemic that had begun in the first years of the 20th Century, and that had split the relationship between both organizations. When, in 1919, the PSI decided to adhere to the new Communist International, the masonic polemics was part of the debates that took place in the congresses prior to Lenin's death. Overall, when it was clear that many Italian socialist-freemasons had adhered to the French communist party, the International, mainly due to Trotsky who adopted strict stances on the matter.

Abstract The anti-masonic motion, voted in the congress of the Partido Socialista Italiano (PSI) in 1914, it settled a polemic that had begun in the first years of the 20th Century, and that had split the relationship between both organizations. When, in 1919, the PSI decided to adhere to the new Communist International, the masonic polemics was part of the debates that took place in the congresses prior to Lenin's death. Overall, when it was clear that many Italian socialist-freemasons had adhered to the French communist party, the International, mainly due to Trotsky who adopted strict stances on the matter.

Resumen La Prima guerra mondiale mise la massoneria italiana di fronte al difficile compito di conciliare l’universalismo libero muratorio con le esigenze patriottiche. La svolta ‘nazionalista’ impressa dalla gran maestranza di Ernesto Nathan (1917-1918) ampli ulteriormente la forbice della vexata quaestio “cosmopolitismo/nazionalismo” introducendo delle derive imperialiste, che segnarono un definitivo distacco dal pensiero mazziniano e dai valori risorgimentali professati e difesi almeno fino nel primo decennio del Novecento. Il sostegno alle politiche di annessione della Dalmazia divenne la cartina al tornasole per comprendere l’evoluzione nazionalista del Grande Oriente d’Italia durante il conflitto e nell’immediato dopoguerra.

Abstract After the First World War, Italian freemasonry had to reconcile masonic universalism with patriotic demands. The nationalistic turning point, marked by the Grand Master Ernesto Nathan (1917-1918), widened the gap of the vexata quaestio “cosmopolitanism/nationalism” by introducing imperialistic tendencies. Thus, distancing itself from the thinking of Mazzini and the values of the Risorgimento which had been professed and defended until the first decade of the 20th century. The support for the Dalmatian annexation policies became a key issue in order to understand the nationalistic evolution of the Grand Orient of Italy during the war and its aftermath.