In 1931 the Italian economist Antonio de Viti de Marco applied for retirement so as not to take the oath of loyalty to fascism, which the regime made compulsory for university professors in that year. Most of the Italian professors took the oath, with different motivations. De Viti did not, and publicly stated the reasons for his refusal in a letter to the Chancellor of the University of Rome, explaining that the words of the oath would have placed him “in contrast with [his] previous political historyHistory and practice, and with the doctrine [he had] always professed”. Therefore, at the age of 73, a few years earlier than the normal retirement age, De Viti withdrew. This paper contextualises and investigates the motivations of De Viti de Marco’s refusal and its consequences.