From reporter Sawdah Bhaimiya, "The boss of an Italian government-controlled technology company resigned after he quoted the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in an internal email, according to numerous reports.

Claudio Anastasio resigned as the chairman of 3-I — a tech company that provides software services for Italy's welfare and statistics agencies — on Tuesday, two government sources told Reuters. The story was also reported by Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

Anastasio, who was appointed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in November, sent an inauguration email to board members quoting Mussolini, who ruled Italy as a dictator from 1922 to 1943.

The former chairman quoted from a 1925 Mussolini speech and tweaked it to substitute the word "fascism" for "3-I," per the Times of London.

"But then, oh gentlemen, what butterflies shall we seek under the arch of Titus? Well, I declare here, before you and before the entire Italian government, that I assume (I alone!) responsibility for 3-I (political! moral! historical!) of everything that has happened," Anastasio wrote in the email.

"If more or less distorted phrases are enough to hang a man, out with the gallows and out with the rope! If 3-I was my fault, the responsibility for this is mine, because I have contributed through my role to the historic, political, and moral climate."

Anastasio provided no clear reasoning for his unusual choice of quote, the Times wrote."