This article draws extensively on archival sources for its account of the censorship of translated texts during the fascist period in Italy and asks a number of key questions. The campaign against foreign books was late, cautious and carefully paced; however; when it became strategic - particularly - against Jewish writers - censorship was applied strictly. But why did the Fascist regime, given its nationalist, fundamentally xenophobic and racist ethos, allow so many translations, especially translations of fiction, to be published? Why did it have so many problems with the censorship of translations? More specifically, why did the regime only begin to exert complete control over translation and implement the methodical elimination of proscribed books as late as April 1938? The author's thesis is that, firstly, Mussolini himself believed that the 'Italian race' was intrinsically and genetically able to 'assimilate' other races, particularly from a cultural and linguistic point of view. Moreover, since it was well known that the Duce, in his youth, had translated widely form French and German, some tolerance had to be shown. Secondly, issues of foreign policy were at stake: it would have been inadvisable to vex other states with prohibitions which could have caused them to retaliate against Italian products. Thirdly: the regime did not want to damage publishers, authors, booksellers and readers alike. As a result, the censorship of translation was a very long and complex process, linked with the evolution of the 'racial campaign'. In the end, however, this policy culminated in drastic measures.