Mussolini's Decennale: Aura and Mythmaking in Fascist Italy

by Antonio Morena

Overview

The year 1932, the tenth anniversary of Mussolini’s March on Rome, was fascism’s Decennale. Commemorating Italian fascism’s seizure of power, the Decennale was celebrated by the regime in a deliberate attempt to radicalize the original movement and develop it into an imperial and racist regime.

In Mussolini’s Decennale, Antonio Morena explores a cross-section of Italian culture during the Decennale. Studying literature, speeches, documentaries, films, textbooks, and the 1932 Exhibition, he discusses how the regime, its patrons, and even its critics all appropriated the historical events of 1922 for their political advantage. Positioning the 1932 anniversary celebrations as the crux of the fascist transition from conservatism to totalitarianism, Mussolini’s Decennale broadens our understanding of fascist ideology, cultural politics, and Realpolitik.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442645974
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	12/04/2015
Series:	Toronto Italian Studies
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Antonio Morena received his PhD in Romance Languages and Letters from Harvard University.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Exhibition Value: The New Generation

2. Textbooks for Il Balilla Vittorio

3. “Writing” 1932

4. Critical Dissent: An Alternative Decennale and Beyond

Conclusion

Appendix: Antonio Aniante, “Consalvo e Candida”, Solaria (June 1932), 23–27

What People are Saying About This

Paul Baxa

“Through his analysis of novels, films, and exhibitions, Antonio Morena demonstrates that in 1932 the fascist regime wanted to educate young fascists to engage in a ‘March from Rome,’ setting up the state’s future imperial conquests. This is an original reading of some famous and not so famous intellectuals and their engagement with fascism’s celebration of its rise to power.”

Editorial Reviews

‘This is a well-researched study in dialogue with leading scholarship on Italian Fascism…. The tight focus on an individual year, coupled with attention to a very wide variety of sources is methodologically sound and offers rich portrayal of 1932.’

—Giuliana Pieri, Modern Language Review vol 112:03:2017

“Through his analysis of novels, films, and exhibitions, Antonio Morena demonstrates that in 1932 the fascist regime wanted to educate young fascists to engage in a ‘March from Rome,’ setting up the state’s future imperial conquests. This is an original reading of some famous and not so famous intellectuals and their engagement with fascism’s celebration of its rise to power.”

—Paul Baxa, Department of History, Ave Maria University

From the Publisher

'This is a well-researched study in dialogue with leading scholarship on Italian Fascism.... The tight focus on an individual year, coupled with attention to a very wide variety of sources is methodologically sound and offers rich portrayal of 1932.'

Modern Language Review vol 112:03:2017 - Giuliana Pieri