What is "Fascism" as noted in the nonfiction book, War in Val D'Orcia, 1943-1944?

Fascism, as a social/political movement, was (and continues to be) grounded in the principles of racial and/or ethnic superiority, of absolute authoritarian government, of the leadership (dictatorship) of a single, charismatic individual, and of a contempt for democracy. Day-to-day manifestations of fascistic behavior and thought were the primary obstacles against which the Marchesa, and the Val d'Orcia community, fought during their struggles of 1943-44.