Italy[edit] Flag of the National Fascist Party, bearing the fasces, which was the premier symbol of Italian Fascism. A perched eagle clutching a fasces was a common symbol used on Italian Fascist uniforms. The original symbol of fascism, in Italy under Benito Mussolini, was the fasces. This is an ancient Imperial Roman symbol of power carried by lictors in front of magistrates; a bundle of sticks featuring an axe, indicating the power over life and death.