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Andrea Masseroni
Scuola Normale Superiore, Classe di Lettere, Department Member
- History of Religion, Religion and Politics, Fascism, Modern Italian History, Political Religion, History, Writing and Memory, and 19 moreReligious Studies, Identity, Citizenship, Intercultural dialogue, Islam, Media, Communication, Sociology, Theology, Philosophy, Anthropology, Identity and memory construction, History and Memory, Civil Religion, Multiculturalism, Modern Italy, Propaganda, Cultural policy under Fascism, and Contemporary Historyedit
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In the period between 1919 and 1945 fascism devoted much energy to represent itself as a religious system. The regime also looked to endow itself with both supreme political and spiritual power. It tried to do so through the construction... more
In the period between 1919 and 1945 fascism devoted much energy to represent itself as a religious system. The regime also looked to endow itself with both supreme political and spiritual power. It tried to do so through the construction of the «Myth of Mussolini» and the sacralisation of profane fields (such as politics, war or colonialism). The fascist regime also imposed rites, norms, forms of behaviour and customs on Italians.
Mario Appelius was a very popular personality during the fascist regime, today unknown in the academic field, who wrote almost thirty books and hundreds of pieces for newspapers and magazines such as, for instance, Il secolo d’Italia and Gerarchia. He was one of the most fervent supporters of the idea that fascism was a religion. In this way he developed a religious dialectic concerning the unbreakable relationship between single races and their religions. According to Appelius, every race has an own religion in its genetic and spiritual expertise: so, in the world there are better and worse races (better and worse religions). According to him, life in the world is a clash of races, and indeed, a clash of different religions.
Considering his opera my paper aims to point out one aspect of his whole thought: the representation of fascism as a religion. The narration of the black-shirt Antonio Furlaneto’s funeral, in which fascism is both the truly way of redemption and an antagonistic «religion» to Catholicism, will be the focus of my paper.
Mario Appelius was a very popular personality during the fascist regime, today unknown in the academic field, who wrote almost thirty books and hundreds of pieces for newspapers and magazines such as, for instance, Il secolo d’Italia and Gerarchia. He was one of the most fervent supporters of the idea that fascism was a religion. In this way he developed a religious dialectic concerning the unbreakable relationship between single races and their religions. According to Appelius, every race has an own religion in its genetic and spiritual expertise: so, in the world there are better and worse races (better and worse religions). According to him, life in the world is a clash of races, and indeed, a clash of different religions.
Considering his opera my paper aims to point out one aspect of his whole thought: the representation of fascism as a religion. The narration of the black-shirt Antonio Furlaneto’s funeral, in which fascism is both the truly way of redemption and an antagonistic «religion» to Catholicism, will be the focus of my paper.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Modern Italian History, History of Religion, Italian Studies, Religion and Politics, Fascism, and 13 morePolitical Religion, Political Regimes, Fascist Italy, Cultural policy under Fascism, Italian fascism, History of Fascism, Fascist propaganda, Contemporary Italian History and Politics, Italian History, Fascismo, Fascist Culture, Civic Religion, and Regime Fascista
Research Interests: Modern Italian History, History of Religion, Italian Studies, Religion and Politics, Fascism, and 14 morePolitical Religion, Political Regimes, Fascist Italy, Cultural policy under Fascism, Italian fascism, History of Fascism, Fascist propaganda, Contemporary Italian History and Politics, Italian History, Fascismo, Right Wing Extremism, Nationalism and Fascism in Past and Present, Fascist Culture, Civic Religion, and Regime Fascista
Questo contributo intende analizzare l'attività mitopoietica a sostegno del processo di auto-rappresentazione religiosa del fascismo da parte di Mario Appelius, autore ben noto e famoso negli anni del regime, attraverso lo studio di un... more
Questo contributo intende analizzare l'attività mitopoietica a sostegno del processo di auto-rappresentazione religiosa del fascismo da parte di Mario Appelius, autore ben noto e famoso negli anni del regime, attraverso lo studio di un suo romanzo intitolato "Il cimitero degli elefanti".
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This paper aims to analyze the mythopoeic activity produced in order to legitimate the religious self-representation of fascism by Mario Appelius, fascist author well known and famous during the fascist regime, through the analysis of him novel titled "Il cimitero degli elefanti" (The cemetery of the elephants).
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This paper aims to analyze the mythopoeic activity produced in order to legitimate the religious self-representation of fascism by Mario Appelius, fascist author well known and famous during the fascist regime, through the analysis of him novel titled "Il cimitero degli elefanti" (The cemetery of the elephants).