The aftermath of the Mussolini cult: history, nostalgia and popular culture

Gabriele d’Annunzio and the self-fashioning of a national icon

“…Journalist Renato Simoni, in an interview with d’Annunzio in Corriere della Sera on 15 June 1922, mentions what would become a daily occurrence until d’Annunzio’s death: the pilgrimage to Gardone and the amount of fan mail that the poet received from his admirers, who were an intriguing mix of literati, war veterans and ordinary people such as Addolorata de’ Blasi, who wrote to the poet ‘with anxious heart and enthusiasm in my soul, I long for your photograph’ (d’Annunzio 2003, 1499). That many of his admirers, both male and female, requested photographs of the poet, whilst expressing their devotion to him, is one of the clearest indications of the veritable personality cult of d’Annunzio, which had links with the star system and interesting reverberations in the personality cult of Mussolini (Gundle 2013, 72–92). It also attests to the true iconic status of the poet, whose image, in the words of his fans, was endowed with a quasi-religious devotional function which, in the age of mass media, often transformed secular images into icons that possessed the power of evoking the presence of the person admired.…”

The iconic body: Mussolini unclothed

“…Supported by the growing influence of the visual, the display of shirtless or partially naked muscular male bodies, seen in moving and still images, now meant fitness, ‘finalised effort’ and ‘productivity’ (Boscagli 1996, 58). Of the muscled heroes performing ‘feats of athletic daring’ in blockbuster historical films such as Quo Vadis (1913) or Spartaco (1913) (Reich 2013, 32), for which Italian cinema was at the time celebrated worldwide, the cinematic strongman Maciste, a Herculean athletic champion played in 1914 by Bartolomeo Pagano in the silent movie classic Cabiria, (Gundle 2013, 77) can be identified as the precursor of an aesthetic of male nudity subsequently influential in its application to leadership. Produced between 1914 and 1929, the approximately 30 films featuring Pagano in the role of Maciste conveyed the message that playing an extraordinary character, an ordinary Italian citizen could become exceptional (Reich 2013, 5).…”

“…As Boscagli notes, the superman with a proletarian body was strengthened by labour and rendered aristocratic (1996, 58). For his bravery and strength, as well as his kindness, he was known as ‘ Il gigante buono’ (the gentle giant) (Reich 2013, 33), the hero whose superhuman strength was placed at the service of good (Gundle 2013, 77). A figure from the universe of mass culture, he embodied the nation and a national spirit that pervaded Italy in the first half of the twentieth century.…”

“…Mussolini conceived himself as a film hero (Gundle 2008, 53–55): he had no reservations about being represented as the virile Roman, with his profile and shaved head becoming ‘the face of the regime’ (Heller 2008, 78). The theatrical poses and attitudes, together with the appropriate ‘costumes’, rather than being mere decorative accessories were symbolic, transforming the images into value-laden signs (Gundle 2013, 72). The Duce’s body, charged with symbolic elements, was used to propagate his heroic image as the Italian leader.…”

“…Silvio Bertoldi’s chronicle of Mussolini’s life during the regime uses the camicia nera (black shirt) as a narrative tool to link the symbolic garment to the essence and contradictions of Fascist Italy (Bertoldi 2001). One of these was that Mussolini who ‘ mise tutti gli italiani in uniforme ’ was the one who wore the black shirt the least (Bertoldi 2001, 62), opting instead to wear the most bizarre sartorial combinations, such as ‘spats with a black shirt’ (Gundle 2013, 78). However, it was when Mussolini removed his clothes, or his ‘armour’, that he was able to project the image of a truly popular hero, as seen in the famous images of Duce-trebbiatore (Duce-thresher).…”