Federico Caprotti, in his book Mussolini’s Cities: Internal Colonialism in Italy, 1930-1939, describes how it took a dictator like Mussolini to rid low-lying Italian swamps of malaria, which had plagued the region since Roman times. Once the marshland was drained through canals dug by the dictator’s troops, the region turned into a lush agricultural zone. The popularity surge that ensued is believed to have helped Mussolini take control in Italy.