Grand Orient of Italy


The Grand Orient of Italy is an Italian masonic grand lodge founded in 1805; the viceroy Eugene of Beauharnais was instrumental in its establishment. It was based at the Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome, Italy from 1901 until 1985 and is now located at the. Its current Grand Master is Italian journalist Stefano Bisi.
the Grand Orient had 22,675 members in 842 lodges, a significant growth over the preceding three-year period.
The international influence of the Grand Orient has decreased since it lost the official recognition of the "Home Grand Lodges" owing to alleged corruption, although it remains regular in government and practice.

History

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:
Freemasonry was suppressed by Mussolini in 1925, being restarted after the Second World War.

Regularity

Recognition by the United Grand Lodge of England 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 the UGLE. However, this recognition was withdrawn in 1993, due to accusations of corruption and Mafia involvement. Today the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy is the only Italian Grand Lodge recognized by the UGLE, or the other home constitutions of Ireland and Scotland. However, the Grand Orient is fully recognised by a large majority of the other regular masonic jurisdictions, both in Europe and worldwide.
This situation is highly unusual, in that most regular authorities recognise the Grand Orient, but its status is 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 has publicly stated that the Grand Orient of Italy is regular in both origins and practices, but that it must remain unrecognised due to the issues surrounding alleged corruption.
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.

List of Grand Masters

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.