Richard Bosworth describes Italy in 1914 as “the Least of the Great Powers.” Italy's allies, Austria-Hungary and Germany, paid it scant attention that July. They excluded Rome from policy discussions in the aftermath of the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Nor did they inform the Italians of the terms of the ultimatum Vienna handed Belgrade on 23 July. During the crisis, neither Austria-Hungary nor Germany treated Italy as a valued ally, and much less as a great power.

Italy's first response to the war was a declaration of neutrality on 3 August 1914. That decision was largely the work of Foreign Minister Antonio di San Giuliano. Italy at that point was the Continent's largest neutral nation. Both sides in the struggle, accordingly, competed for its support, encouraging either continued neutrality or active participation. Italy's leaders welcomed these offers and for some nine months prepared for combat and weighed the options. This period, called the intervento, ended with the second response, the decision to enter the war on the side of Britain and France in May 1915.

War Powers

Italy was governed according to the Sardinian constitution of 1848. Article 3 of that document declared that the legislative power was to be “exercised collectively by the King and the two Chambers, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.” But other articles assured royal dominance.