Introduction

Terminology

Writing about the emergence of a new printed product and about a particular context such as Fascist Italy requires the use of specific terminology, which requires clarification. First, the book uses terminology drawn from Fascist doctrine, such as the concept of the ‘new man’ and the ‘new woman’, or the notions of ‘totalitarianism’ and ‘autarchy’. Second, before clarifying the way these terms are used in this study, it is necessary to delineate the notion of ‘Fascist ideology’. The analysis here draws primarily on the reflections on Fascism made by philosophers and intellectuals of the time, such as Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937) and Giovanni Gentile (1875–1944), as well as on the declarations by Benito Mussolini during his years as Presidente del Consiglio of Italy (r. 1922–43). The book also relies on, and engages with, the interpretations of and studies on Fascist Italy, its history and cultural apparatus undertaken by historians whose work has shaped the field of study. Defining Fascism is not an easy task, due to the ‘liquid’ nature of the political movement born in Italy after the First World War and to its transnational development; these aspects still fuel debate in both academia and broader society.⁸ In Western Europe and the United States in particular, the events of the last decade have led to discussion about and comparisons between the rise of Fascism in interwar Europe and the current success of populist and neo-Fascist leaders and parties. Leaving aside the multiple disputes surrounding its definition which have characterised public debate in recent years, current events have contributed to the reassessment of the theoretical and methodological foundations shaping the study of Fascism.⁹ A book like this cannot avoid establishing a working definition of the political regime that ruled Italy between 1922 and 1943. A codification of its Fascist doctrine also needs to take into account specific features of the political movement that stemmed from the First World War and is linked to, and intertwined with, cultural and philosophical foundations. These are nation-specific aspects which cannot be ignored: it is in these foundations that the distinctiveness of Italian Fascism is rooted. Studying the development of popular culture is, therefore, a timely topic, as it reveals how these nation-specific elements were mobilised to construct the system of power established in Italy by Mussolini and his followers. At the core of this system lies Fascist ideology, a key issue for any study that aims to address popular culture in Italy because its impact on the culture industry and Italian society cannot be overlooked. The ideology of the regime is particularly important in the analysis of the cultural exchange that contributed to shaping modern Italy. The Italian Fascist State created a system of control that imposed limitations on foreign products, transposing ideology onto cultural production.¹⁰

The ideology of Italian Fascism has been widely questioned for its tendency to shape its ideas in line with its needs. This malleability finds its roots in the Fascist focus on action: ideas would be developed only afterwards, resulting in a lack of organic conceptualisation and models. The absence of a solid doctrine has been the main reason for some historians denying the existence of a Fascist ideology, especially in comparison to other ‘isms’ of the time (like Socialism and Liberalism), and talking instead about a set of heterogeneous ideas and a powerful propaganda machine.¹¹ This book follows Emilio Gentile’s conceptualisation of ideology as the sum of the forms of expression and sets of values of those who identified as Fascists, even when the beginning of such an ideology coincides with the identification of Fascism with anti-ideology.¹² The definition of Fascism in the present study also takes into account its emotional engagement with the masses. Emotion emerged as a pivotal factor in shaping the movement and, subsequently, the regime, intertwining with a series of rituals and imagery which conveyed the mysticism and irrationality of Fascism. This fostered a collective sensory connection to the (alleged) national destiny that resulted in a spiritual engagement by the masses with the rituals of the regime. The importance of emotional response in the building of Italian Fascism reflects its focus on ‘style’ and, in turn, its lack of the sort of codified, coherent doctrine that characterised other ideologies of the time. As Mabel Berezin defines it, Fascists ‘believed in action and style’, leading to an ideology that ‘is a convenient matrix for a set of political and cultural practices but not a body of discursive ideas’.¹³ Put another way, Mussolini’s ethos of power emphasised action and focused on emotions to create a set of cultural beliefs that found expression in performative rituals rather than in a codified ideological identity.

Ultimately, Fascist ideology can be defined in a series of principles which were intended to change the Italian character and create a new nation and people, marking a difference from liberal Italy and consolidating the Fascist revolution that had started in 1919 with the founding of the Fascist movement. Italian Fascism pursued a spiritual renewal and did so through a set of values, ideas and actions which, although sometimes conflicting, formed what we refer to here as Fascist ideology. Key aspects of such ideals, which were also reflected in the popular press, included: the glorification of Rome’s imperial past; the myth of italianità [Italianness]; the superiority of Italian civilisation; the pursuit of a totalitarian State in which the private sphere dissolves into the public sphere and the State is the ultimate goal; the sacralisation of politics, which introduced religious rhetoric and the idea of Fascism as a faith. This in turn led to another aspect of Fascist ideology, namely, the establishment of collective rituals which resulted in the spectacularisation of politics; the creation of a ‘new Italian’; and, finally, the cult of its leader. These myths were disseminated using a specific language, the fascistese, the political language of Mussolini’s regime, ‘substantially made up of three dimensions: religious, military, and bureaucratic’.¹⁴ The religious aspect of Fascist language is a crucial aspect of this ideology because it enabled the regime to integrate already known practices into new rituals and beliefs, appealing to the wide Catholic population, which was thus easily able to connect with Fascist ideas.

While Fascist ideology can be summarised by the principle ‘tutto nello Stato, niente al di fuori dello Stato, nulla contro lo Stato’ [everything in the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State],¹⁵ its main strength was its ability to mobilise the middle class.¹⁶ Such mass organisation followed the principle of totalitarianism, shaping the life of the Italians by integrating them into Fascist organisations at every stage of their lives in an effort to regenerate the Italian character for an anthropological revolution,¹⁷ one that wanted to ‘create a new civilisation based on the principles and institutions of Fascist totalitarianism’.¹⁸ This revolutionary project implied the creation of a ‘new man’ and his faithful and reliable companion, the ‘new woman’. The new man was a virile soldier, ready to sacrifice himself for the Motherland, whilst women found in motherhood the highest expression of patriotism. The ideals behind the ‘new Italian’ saw men and women with established roles summarised by Mussolini’s precept: ‘La guerra sta all’uomo, come la maternità alla donna’ [War is to man as motherhood is to woman].¹⁹ This parallelism reveals another important aspect of Fascist ideology (and rhetoric): the militarisation of politics, which found its expression in the military training to which boys were exposed from an early age; in the features of the ‘new man’ as a strong man ready to fight; and in the glorification of the heroic ultimate sacrifice for the Motherland.

To achieve the renewal of the Italian spirit and build the totalitarian State, Fascism needed consensus; and it was able to obtain it through the personal cult of Mussolini, whose image and speeches were echoed across the media to reach even the most isolated rural communities. The figure of Mussolini became the connection between the individual and the collective and formed a central part of the spectacularisation of Fascist politics through collective ceremonies in which the individual would merge into the mass.²⁰ An important expression of the idolatry of Mussolini by the regime, and of the Fascist effort to reach and permeate every member of Italian society and to gather consensus, was its portrayal of the Duce in different moments of his life, from public to private. The dissemination of the image of Mussolini was particularly important in the campaign for autarchy, the effort by the regime to achieve national economic and cultural self-sufficiency.

As a response to the economic sanctions imposed by the League of Nations against Italy for its invasion of Ethiopia in 1935, the Fascist government launched a campaign for cultural independence that led to the limitation of the imitation or import of foreign products, which were deemed to be a ‘contamination’ of the Italian spirit. Soon the campaign affected cultural production, with the Fascist regime’s new aim of creating a culture which was purely national. This idea of an Italian (and Fascist) culture was part of Mussolini’s totalitarian project and was reflected by the periodical press. The use of the term ‘autarchy’ in the present study therefore refers to that specific moment in Italian history when the economic isolation of the country after its invasion of Ethiopia led to the theorisation of a self-sufficiency charged with political significance. The ‘autarchic phase’ in cultural production coincides with the end of the regime’s support for aesthetic experimentation. This had been the result of exposure to and reinterpretations of international artistic and cultural trends generated beyond national borders. The Italo-Ethiopian War, therefore, marks a change in Fascist ideology, putting internal production at the centre and closing the door to cultural exchange, ending what Ruth Ben-Ghiat terms ‘an era of cultural debate that many intellectuals would remember as the most intense and engaging period of the dictatorship’.²¹ This shift in Mussolini’s ruling system is reflected in the modernisation of cultural practices of production and consumption, as explored through the case studies analysed here.

Fascist jargon is not the only terminology used in this book that is worth clarifying. The reader will notice the use of ‘America’ as a synonym for ‘the United States’. This choice has been made in order to be faithful to the Italian use of the term ‘America’, a word that is not limited to a geographical area but encompasses the set of values and myths that arrived in Italy and created an idyllic image of the United States and its society. In the Ventennio, the ‘myth of America’ became connected to a form of resistance to the Fascist regime, an idea of freedom and intellectual stimulus which was particularly expressed through the translation of contemporary American works of literature.²² Another important difference is the use of the terms ‘comic strips’ and ‘comic book’. Although the two media can overlap, there is a substantial difference in their format and, in particular, the readership they targeted. This book adopts Bradford Wright’s definition: ‘[C]omic strips are a syndicated feature in newspapers sold to a mass and mostly adult audience, comic books are created, distributed, and sold on their own merits to a paying […] young audience’.²³ Specifically, in the Italian context ‘comic strip’ refers to the serialised comic stories published in comics magazines, whereas ‘comic book’ refers to the stand-alone story published on its own. Finally, this study refers to ‘comics magazines’ when talking about illustrated periodicals focused on comics, whether in the form of comics strips or serialised comics.

Context

By the time the Fascist party gained control of the country, the culture industry was already developing as a system of mass production and distribution, driven as much by profitability as by state intervention. At the same time, models coming from abroad were influencing Italian cultural production and people’s taste. Although the impact of foreign cultures is visible across different media, in the 1930s it became striking in film production and advertising. Both sectors brought to the attention of Italian consumers new products and lifestyles which contributed to shaping modern tastes and spreading a consumerist culture that came mostly from the United States. Mussolini’s system of power saw the emergence of this culture of consumption as dangerous for its totalitarian project because it fuelled personal aspirations that worked against the submission of the individual to the state. American advertising was indeed spreading a consumer culture focused on the self, which contrasted with the Fascist focus on the collective. The Italian reaction came about when the regime launched the campaign for autarchy. Despite the main goal being the limitation of imports in all sectors, the pursuit of self-sufficiency indirectly encouraged the expansion of consumption. Italian products were praised and their purchase endorsed as an act of patriotism, thus making the consumption of Italian goods an important element in national growth, with the regime actively promoting the creation of an Italian consumer whose spending was guided by the State. In the process of centralising cultural production and the education of the masses within the State, consumption became a concern and a significant element in the construction of Fascist society.

Strictly connected to the emergence of the masses as protagonists of the Fascist State, consumerism was also seen as a means of control. By standardising people’s demands, the regime sought to prioritise the needs of the collective over individual desire and to use consumer goods to shape a specifically Fascist version of modernity. In the 1930s the expansion of advertising deeply affected the press, becoming not only a crucial source of revenue for magazines but also changing their appearance. Despite intervention by the regime, the development of advertising contributed to the spreading of foreign lifestyles – and lifestyle aspirations – that influenced both the content and look of magazines and, consequently, consumer taste and demands.

In this context the periodical press is revealing of the forces at play which contributed to the shaping of modern Italy. Magazines mirrored not only cultural change and the State’s intervention in and influence on cultural production, but also the modernisation of Italian society and the impact of foreign models. The illustrated-magazine format, the rotocalco, a new product launched in the 1930s and aimed at the masses, is a privileged source for the study of the evolution of the popular press and modern consumption in Italy within the peculiar dynamics of a controlling regime. The commercial nature of the rotocalco, its mass production and targeted distribution demonstrate the complexity of cultural production in the Ventennio and the emerging mass-consumer culture, as well as the mixed national and international forces that shaped it. Although the Fascist government considered the manipulation of the press a crucial element in establishing its power and consensus, periodicals had a certain margin of freedom thanks to their nature as entertainment products. While daily newspapers were heavily influenced by politics and considered a social necessity, the purchase of a magazine reflected more directly the preferences of the readers. As cultural products, periodicals were still subject to Fascist control and had to comply with specific directives in terms of what could and could not be published. Nonetheless, modern forms of consumption and models coming from abroad found space for expression in the new rotocalchi, meeting the demands of an emerging, modern readership influenced by the foreign culture brought to popularity mainly by American films and advertising.

While there is a lack of official statistics for the 1930s, the analysis of the data on periodical publications provided by the Istituto nazionale di statistica [National Institute of Statistics – Istat] between 1881 and 1932 indicates a constant growth in the number of periodicals published until 1928, when a fall in numbers is registered. These data confirm the increasing popularity of the periodical press and seem to reflect the more restrictive press regulation introduced by the Fascist regime. In 1912 the records show the publication of 3,341 periodicals, while the number fell to 3,030 in 1928 and to 2,946 in 1929.²⁴ The last available data refer to 1929, when 2,946 periodicals were being published, 473 of which were weeklies.²⁵ The study of illustrated magazines reveals that the field grew rapidly in the 1930s. This decade was characterised by the production of an increasing number of weeklies which targeted a specific readership and covered several distinct areas of interest and specialisation, such as women’s magazines, the introduction of comics magazines and magazines dealing with literature, the Arts and current affairs. For example, between 1881 and 1919 there were only a few established women’s periodicals, aimed mainly at the bourgeoisie, such as Cordelia (Florence: Le Monnier, 1881–1942), La Donna (Turin: La Stampa and Rome: La Tribuna, 1905–22; then Milan: Mondadori, 1922–26) and Lidel (Milan: Lidel, 1919–35). Between 1933 and 1938 the most successful and longest-running women’s rotocalchi, which also targeted less-educated women, were launched, considerably expanding the field and the readership. These included Eva: settimanale per la donna italiana (Milan: Vitaliano, 1933–36; then Rusconi, 1936–68); Gioia! (Milan: Rusconi, 1937–2006); Annabella (Milan: Rizzoli, 1938–; previously Lei 1933–38); and Grazia: un’amica al vostro fianco (Milan: Mondadori, 1938–). The layout introduced by these publications can also be seen in post-war magazines. The same can be said for illustrated weeklies covering current events and culture, in which photographs are the main feature and means of information in the magazine. The first prototype in Italy was Omnibus (Milan: Rizzoli, 1937–39), followed by weeklies such as Tempo (Milan: Mondadori, 1939–76) and Panorama (Milan: Mondadori, 1939–); their layout was maintained by post-war magazines such as Europeo (Milan: Rizzoli, 1945–47, then Domus, 1945–2013) and L’Espresso (Rome: N.E.R, 1955–). These magazines began to target a wider range of readers in the 1930s, as demonstrated by the variety of topics addressed. Their layout and approach to the readership grew increasingly similar, distancing them from the illustrated journals of the previous era and showing how the illustrated magazines of the 1930s represent a watershed in the history of the Italian popular press. Comics magazines are another example of this, with comic weeklies flourishing in the 1930s and changing the Italian children’s press. Analysis of the number of comics and children’s magazines published since the beginning of the twentieth century reveals the rapid growth of these publications in the 1930s: between 1900 and 1922 approximately six periodicals were launched, followed by only a few new publications – mainly Fascist – between 1922 and 1929, whereas between 1932 and 1937 more than thirteen comics magazines were launched, among them the long-running Topolino (Florence: Nerbini, 1932–35; then Milan: Mondadori, 1935–43 and 1945–88; then Milan: The Walt Disney Company Italia, 1988–2013; then Modena: Panini Comics, 2013–) and Il Vittorioso (Rome: AVE, 1937–66).

Organisation

This book is divided into five chapters. The first introduces the political, cultural and social background against which Italian illustrated popular magazines – from now on referred to as rotocalchi – developed. The cultural politics of the regime and its organisation of control over culture are crucial in understanding the impact of the general ethos of power on the popular press. The better to understand how the regime established a structured control over the press and culture, one built at the same pace as the theorisation of the Fascist idea of a culture for the masses, Chapter 1 retraces the key steps taken by Mussolini’s government to organise both its system of control and its idea of popular culture. The latter is strictly connected to the control of cultural production, here examined in terms of the practical organisation of the dissemination of popular culture and its formal government institution: the Ministero della Cultura Popolare [Ministry of Popular Culture]. The examination of these aspects provides the necessary context in which to understand the significance of the production of modern rotocalchi. The chapter also introduces the evolution of the Italian publishing industry, which in the interwar years saw the emergence of new publishing companies with a key role in the modernisation and shaping of the popular Italian mass press: Mondadori, Rizzoli and Nerbini. The founders of these publishing companies, Alberto Mondadori, Angelo Rizzoli and Giuseppe Nerbini, changed Italian magazine production. Their activity as publishers is closely connected to the Fascist apparatus, thus proving a significant source of information on how the publishing field engaged in dialogue with Mussolini’s controlling regime.

Because this study aims to address the cultural dialogue which helped to shape Italian popular culture, Chapter 2 introduces the international factors that influenced the development of the Italian illustrated press. It retraces key steps in the history of the Italian production of periodicals and compares it to the foreign cultures whose influence is visible in rotocalchi, namely, those of Western European countries and the United States. The latter had a particularly important role in the general development of the modern popular press, influencing not just Italy but Western Europe in general. The influence of the American model on Italian popular culture is therefore analysed to assess whether and how the process of Americanisation was already shaping Italian society despite Fascist efforts to create a purely Italian culture. Many studies have highlighted how a process of Americanisation became visible throughout Western Europe in the interwar years.²⁶ Through examining the complex presence of American and other influences on popular magazines, the present study makes a significant contribution to this debate on the processes of the Americanisation of Italian culture and shows how modern Italian culture developed in constant dialogue with that of America, but also of other European countries. Its analysis suggests that American culture was not the only force shaping and influencing the Italian popular press and demonstrates the presence of a converse process of the Italianisation of foreign models coming from both the United States and Europe. These elements are examined in Chapter 2, alongside the relationship of Fascist Italy to American culture and its products, including the attitude of the regime towards the United States. This chapter provides the necessary framework for a detailed analysis of the case studies, L’Avventuroso, Omnibus and Grazia, which demonstrate the presence of a multicultural dialogue shaping the popular press in Italy and beyond.

Chapters 3 to 5 are each dedicated to one of the three case studies, following both a chronological order of first appearance and the level of visible impact of both censorship and foreign models. Each case study is first contextualised to offer a broad view of the state of the publishing field which the magazines in question contributed to changing. The examination of each case study takes into account not only the socio-political context, but also how each magazine situates itself in the relevant printing market and how it communicates with other similar products. For this reason each chapter offers an in-depth analysis of specific aspects which a) are revealing of the multicultural dialogue that shaped Italian rotocalchi; b) define the nature of the magazine; and c) illustrate the readership targeted.

Chapter 3 examines the comics magazine L’Avventuroso, launched in 1934 and based almost entirely on American comics. It was deeply affected by the Italian government’s ban on foreign comics, issued in 1938, which eventually led to an abrupt interruption of its publication in 1943. Comics are analysed here in their role as a vehicle of foreign culture in Italian society through new forms of Italian print media. The qualitative content-analysis of L’Avventuroso addresses two main themes: Americanisation and the representation of gender. Specifically, the chapter provides a detailed analysis of the production of particular comics that reveals American models and the patterns of imitation and re-elaboration of these models. Representation of gender roles and male and female bodies is then examined in its visual and textual elements to assess national and international views on gender. The focus on these elements allows an exploration of changes in the modes of comics-production and of how the medium contributed to the Americanisation of modern Italian society (and cultural production). The direct Fascist intervention in comics magazines provides an excellent example of the reach of State censorship and, in turn, of how rooted American models were in the consumption of comics. Because of the significance of American comics in the development of L’Avventuroso, this chapter briefly examines the rise of comics in the United States in order better to frame the cultural differences which made the Italian readership so receptive to the innovation brought in by Mario Nerbini. Although a brief analysis of Fascist cultural policies is necessary in order to contextualise the research, this study aims to overcome the political implications of the history of modern comics in the Ventennio and seeks instead to highlight the process of Americanisation of Italian comics and the Italianisation of imported American ones. The introduction to the field of comics in Italy is followed by an examination of the case study, L’Avventuroso, which retraces and investigates its evolution with particular attention paid to its connections to American comics and the impact of censorship. The analysis of the magazine is divided into two parts, the first presenting an overview of the content and format of L’Avventuroso in the years from 1934 to 1942; and the second focusing on specific aspects which highlight its particular position in relation to its sources and constraints: the portrayal of women; the translation of American names; and the features of four comic strips that combined American models and modern Italian comics.²⁷

Chapter 4 focuses on the general illustrated weekly Omnibus, launched in 1937 and closed by the regime in 1939. Although its similarity with foreign magazines is mentioned by previous scholarship, this book addresses and assesses in greater depth the impact of foreign models on the shaping of what is known as the first Italian rotocalco. The main focus of this chapter is the reinterpretation, imitation and depiction of foreign culture in Omnibus. The selection of the content for close examination is therefore defined by the cultural and foreign elements exhibited in the magazine. Particular attention is paid to the presence of European and American cultural models from the point of view of both form and substance. The analysis thus seeks to verify the claims made by various contributors to Omnibus that foreign models profoundly influenced the magazine.²⁸ The discussion of the second case study is structured as follows: it outlines, first, the general aspects and key features of Omnibus, particularly the influence of foreign models on its layout; second, how the magazine was produced; and, third, the role of images. It then examines the attention paid by Omnibus to foreign culture through the analysis of ‘Giorno e notte’ [Day and Night], a section of the magazine devoted to cinema, and of the literary content, which reveals the constant, although ambivalent, presence of American culture in the magazine. Specific attention is then paid to the feature on page 10 of each issue, which contains an instalment from a serialised novel, taking 1937 as a sample year. Aspects considered in analysing the role of novels in Omnibus are their translation, their place and language of origin and the kinds of issue that arose from censorship. The analysis of ‘Giorno e notte’ focuses instead on the perspective adopted by Omnibus towards the film industry, and especially Hollywood, which played a crucial role in this period as both the dominant producer of films and symbol of cinema and of American culture in general.²⁹ A final consideration of the attitude of Omnibus to the United States is undertaken through analyses of the different, and often contradictory, images of America and American culture disseminated through an array of other images and articles in the magazine. Overall, the chapter provides a still image of the perception of American society and culture and of the dynamics between the ideology of the regime and national cultural production.

Finally, Chapter 5 analyses Grazia, launched at the end of 1938 as a specifically Italian women’s magazine shaped according to Fascist culture and values but with many hybrid elements. The chapter offers a close examination of the issues published from 1938 to 1943, when due to the war the majority of publishers had to stop printing their periodicals. To address the elements that made Grazia an innovative magazine which reflected the transnational cultural exchange that characterises the development of rotocalchi, the chapter focuses on content that addresses the readership directly. The analysis of this material serves to examine how even a publication steeped in Fascist culture such as this one was, in fact, shaped and influenced by varied foreign models and modern attitudes, in this case coming mainly from the United States and France. Scholarly studies of the Italian periodical press are in general fragmentary; and while recently the analyses of illustrated weeklies have multiplied, examination of them still seems to be incomplete when it comes to publications for women, especially in the interwar years. The first study that specifically addresses women’s magazines in the Mussolini era is Elisabetta Mondello’s La nuova italiana. La donna nella stampa e nella cultura del Ventennio, published in 1987, which questions the omissions in and narrow perspective created by previous scholarship and investigates important periodicals such as the Almanacco della donna (Florence: Bemporad, 1920–43). Mondello’s investigation sought to be a starting point for further research, suggesting a new interpretation for the role of women’s magazines as a revelatory source for the complexity behind the monolithic image suggested by the general ethos of power. Subsequent studies on women’s magazines have flourished, but only a few focus on the new genre launched by rotocalchi and their relationship to the Fascist regime.³⁰ This chapter provides a better understanding of women’s illustrated magazines and their relevance to both the development of a modern mass press and the shaping of an idea and culture of modern Italian women in the Ventennio.

The study of Grazia provides a new perspective on publications for women and demonstrates the complexity of the image of women circulated by these magazines in spite of the ideal proposed by the Fascist ideologues and in the face of the impact of government propaganda about the field. In so doing, this chapter takes Mondello’s research further and provides additional, important elements to the contradictions between the regime’s ideals and women’s experience. The analysis of Grazia offers another revealing example of how the emerging mass press developed under Mussolini’s system of power and shows how foreign and modern models co-existed with, and sometimes overcame, Fascist ideals. The focus on women also offers insights into the development of a new, modern model of femininity and of readers’ thoughts, desires and taste as reflected in popular magazines – that is to say, reflected by a product shaped to sell, and therefore to appeal, to as a wide a readership as possible.

The chapter is divided into two main parts. In order to provide a solid frame for the analysis of the case study, the first part introduces the development of women’s illustrated magazines in the 1930s and the model of femininity proposed by Fascism. The second is the core of the chapter and presents the case study, Grazia, which is analysed in detail, from the founding of the magazine and its relationship with the regime to the launch of the first issue in November 1938. It starts by setting out the story of the creation and development of Grazia as a modern rotocalco. The choices and decisions made by the editor and the publishing company are analysed so as to understand how the project was initiated and how the production of the magazine was subsequently organised over its first six years. The main features of Grazia are then analysed by examining its approach to its readers and its writing style. In particular, the focus is on the analysis of the column ‘Essere donna’ [Being a Woman], offering a man’s perspective, and on two main regular sections, ‘Vivere in due’ [Living as a Couple] and ‘Grazia vi scrive’ [Grazia Writes to You]. These three sections have been chosen as epitomes of the characteristics of the magazine because they represent both a feature unique to Grazia (as is the case with ‘Essere donna’) and the customisation of a type of column (the advice column) common to many rotocalchi. Furthermore, they provide rich information for the study of women’s magazines in relation to wider Italian society and Mussolini’s regime, revealing details not only about the women who read and contributed to Grazia but also about the influence of Fascism on the magazine. ‘Vivere in due’ offers a strong illustration of the perfect Fascist bride and mother, whereas in ‘Grazia vi scrive’ we see a complex model of femininity which combines elements of modernity with traditional values and Fascist precepts. The three columns present the opportunity to analyse the informal language of the magazine as well as its methods of reaching out to the everyday woman.

Overall, the analysis of the case studies looks at defining features of practice and cultural imagination which show their interaction with Fascist rhetoric, morals and ideals, as well as with foreign cultures and models. By paying particular attention to recurring themes that echo and mirror the predominant discourse of the regime – e.g., the ideal of the ‘soldier’, the ‘angel of the hearth’, or the virility and bravery of the Italian race – and were part of the project of creating and moulding the new Italian, the core chapters in this book assess the penetration of Fascist language and ideology into the Italian popular press. At the same time, because of the pervasive presence of contrasting myths and models coming from abroad, this study also tests and exposes the limits of Mussolini’s system of control over the press and the general penetration of the Fascist language and mindset amongst the Italians who read and consumed rotocalchi.

Methodology and Aims

Each analysis of the three case studies focuses further on how models from abroad were adapted to an Italian readership and context, suggesting that the study of popular magazines is also revealing of a process of Italianisation, a topic which is often neglected in scholarly literature. The methodology used to study Italian rotocalchi is interdisciplinary, including, in particular, literary and film studies, material culture and cultural studies, with a special focus on cultural, social and political history. Magazines are approached as a multilayered product, a hybrid form combining visual representation with modern forms of consumption, advertising and print culture; and as a result of the political and social circumstances in which they developed. The analysis of rotocalchi from the 1930s therefore takes into account not only the peculiarity of Mussolini’s power structure, which heavily influenced and controlled cultural production through legislation, censorship and institutional control, but also the emergence of a consumer culture of consumption and production. Rotocalchi are here seen as a product of their time, one in which the predominant Fascist culture emerges as much as other international forces and models, revealing how these factors all contributed to shaping the development of a modern Italian mass-print culture. The examination of L’Avventuroso, Omnibus and Grazia reveals the complex dynamic of a printing field caught between commercial needs and ideological pressures. Finally, this study takes into account the implementation of modern forms of mass production, in terms of technology – e.g. the rotocalco itself – and in terms of the demands of the readership targeted.

Retracing the readership of magazines from the 1930s is not a simple task. There are no official records of circulation or sales; and even if there were, they would be only vaguely indicative: a magazine can be passed on to friends and family members, making one copy available to different people and thus increasing the number of readers in practice. Furthermore, any analysis of Italian readership must take into account two things: first, the illiteracy rate, which in 1921 encompassed 27% of the population (women 30%; men 25%) and 21% in 1931 (women 24%; men 17%); and, second, the economic and cultural inequalities between the North and South of Italy. These were both important factors which affected the spread of the mass media in general.³¹ However, testimonies from protagonists of the time shed light by providing a description of the targeted readership of the major rotocalchi, at least: Zavattini, for example, as reported by Raffaele De Berti, describes these as ‘riviste ancillari scritte per le serve ma lette anche dalle padrone’ [ancillary magazines written for servants but also read by their [female] bosses].³² Although Zavattini’s definition refers to women’s magazines, it is still revealing of how rotocalchi in general targeted lower classes. Generally speaking, according to Vittorio Spinazzola, ‘occorreva che i filoni e le formule [editoriali] su cui puntare fossero in grado di attrarre anche l’attenzione delle classi subalterne’ [it was necessary that the strands and [editorial] formulas to be focused on were also capable of attracting the attention of the subaltern classes].³³ Rotocalchi differentiated themselves from early periodicals aimed at upper or more highly educated classes by targeting middle- and lower-middle-class readers, as well as the lower classes. The reader of Omnibus, for example, could be any literate adult, man or woman, from different cultural backgrounds, as the magazine included commentary on current events and literary, theatre and music reviews, but also Hollywood interviews and reviews and comments on sports and fashion. Grazia targeted a wide range of women as well, with articles and advice on relationships, housework, parenting and fashion that could be followed by any woman, be she a housewife, employee, or adolescent. For its part, L’Avventuroso also aimed to entertain all children with no class distinctions whatsoever. The innovative formulas of these magazines were well received by the readership, as demonstrated by the high number of copies reported sold by former collaborators and, in the case of Grazia, by the longevity of the publication. However, the impact of these magazines on Italian readers was altered and limited by the Fascist regime, which, for example, closed Omnibus, had a negative impact on L’Avventuroso, forcing its discontinuation, and controlled or influenced the content of such publications in general.³⁴ All these aspects are treated in the chapters dedicated to the three case studies, the analysis of which is adapted to the different nature of each publication. In L’Avventuroso, for example, visual aspects and the influence of American models were more prominent than in Omnibus and Grazia. On the other hand, politics played a major role in Omnibus in ways not found in the other two magazines. Finally, Grazia mirrored the contradictions in women’s roles and identities in the Fascist era and, compared to L’Avventuroso and Omnibus, is the magazine most influenced by Fascist rhetoric. Therefore, each magazine is approached taking into account the different readership targeted and the varying content, form and aims of the publication.

In so doing, this study paints a picture of the profound changes that touched the Italian popular press in the 1930s. It fills a gap in scholarship by directly addressing the presence of a multicultural dialogue in the shaping of the rotocalchi and highlighting the complex dynamics of printing popular magazines under a controlling regime, an aspect which has been generally overlooked or only partially studied. Academic studies on the periodical press have mainly focused on products of ‘high’ culture and on the binary debate over their so-called ‘Fascist’ or ‘non-Fascist’ aspects, meaning that our understanding of the field is still fragmentary and incomplete, despite the rich array of previous research referred to throughout this book. Rotocalchi have not yet been adequately analysed as a cultural product which also mirrors the presence of foreign models – amongst them the seeds of a process of Americanisation widely visible in post-war Italy – and, crucially, of European models, variously French, German and British, which have been only marginally studied. This book, by contrast, sheds light on the international interactions which contributed to the shaping of an innovative product, the rotocalco, while at the same time highlighting its Italian specificities: that is, it offers insights into the adaptation, or Italianisation, of all these models. As far as comics are concerned, Italian comics published before 1946 have been quite extensively studied. This book contributes to that rich scholarship through a comprehensive, detailed analysis of the content of L’Avventuroso, one that illustrates the process of the Americanisation of Italian comics and Italianisation of American comics by closely examining the content of the magazine and the early processes of translation. The latter is a topic that reveals a great deal about the evolution not just of translation practices, but also of how American language and culture were received and re-elaborated in the Italian context. By examining how popular culture combines international and national models, the book shows how rotocalchi mediated transnational cultural exchange and contributed to the creation of a national identity shaped by different, and often contrasting, forces.³⁵

The adoption of a transnational lens is key to a better understanding of the complexity of the forces at play within Italian Fascism. While Italian Fascism is often associated with its nationalist rhetoric and policies – such as autarchy – it was, from its inception, deeply entangled with transnational dynamics. The expansionist ambitions of the regime, evident in its campaigns in Libya, Ethiopia and beyond, illustrate its outward-looking drive to exert influence across borders.³⁶ Furthermore, the origins of the Italian Fascist movement are rooted in the international context of the Great War, which established networks and exchanges which transcended national boundaries. As Roger Griffin’s concept of ‘palingenetic ultranationalism’ suggests, Fascism emerged as a response to the shared sense of crisis and disillusionment that permeated post-war Europe, creating ideological conditions which resonated across borders.³⁷ The aftermath of the Great War not only shaped the domestic ambitions of Mussolini’s system of power, but also embedded it within a transnational web of mutual influences, as Fascist movements across Europe drew on one another’s ideas, tactics and structures. In other words, Italian Fascism did not develop in a vacuum, but rather as part of a broader web of interconnected ideological currents across the Continent. These currents were not confined to political movements alone but were also disseminated and amplified by the popular press, which played a pivotal role in fostering cross-border exchange – from the circulation of international journalism to the diffusion of broader cultural influences. Such interactions further demonstrate the transnational dimension of Fascism, as the media facilitated the flow of ideas which shaped its development within a wider European and global context. The interwar years in Europe were fundamentally shaped by transnationalism, making it essential to situate Mussolini’s regime within the broader political, social and cultural transformations of the time. Italian Fascism serves as a particularly revealing case for examining the interplay between nationalist ideologies and global cultural influences. Italian rotocalchi, as cultural products heavily shaped by foreign aesthetics, technologies and journalistic practices, offer a vivid example of how transnational currents permeated even the most nationalist of regimes. By situating Italian Fascism within these broader exchanges, this book not only deepens our understanding of Fascist Italy but also highlights its role in the global cultural and ideological transformation of the interwar years. In so doing, it contributes to the growing body of literature that reframes Fascism as part of the transnational exchanges which shaped contemporary Europe.³⁸

Italian popular magazines of the 1930s, as a key cultural product of that era, both shaped and symptomatically reflected the emergent mass-cultural field of modern print culture, operating in complex synergy and conflict with the constraints of the Fascist State. As David Abrahamson puts it:

[M]agazines not only reflect or are a product of the social reality of the times, but they also serve a larger and more proactive function – that they can also be a catalyst, shaping the very social reality of their sociocultural moment.³⁹

The analysis of the field of Italian magazines through the case studies of L’Avventuroso, Omnibus and Grazia adds further important elements to Abrahamson’s original insight and helps us to refine it by shedding light not only on the production, form and contents of the magazines, but also on the socio-cultural significance and complexity of such products. In this sense, the study of the popular press offers rich insights into the process of the ‘domestication’ of foreign culture. As conceptualised by Casey Brienza, ‘domestication’ is identified as ‘an entire transcultural field’, the study of which ‘is not merely textual translation from one language to another or straightforward importation of objects from one country to another – but rather a complex, organised, collective process’.⁴⁰ Rotocalchi in particular are a revealing primary source for understanding the changes taking place in cultural practices, production and value over a wide cross-section of Italian culture and society in the closing years of the Ventennio.

At a time when ‘the other F word’, to cite a BBC Radio 4 podcast by Jonathan Freedland,⁴¹ has become part of the public discourse and is at the forefront of political debates, understanding Italian Fascism can help us to frame the present without losing sight of what Fascism really was – or at least aimed to be. This book situates itself in the need to understand the past in order to navigate the challenges of the present. While politicians and public opinion alike are quick to label someone (or something) ‘Fascist’ and the freedom of the press (and safety of journalists) are increasingly at risk, the exploration of the system of control over popular culture created by the Fascist regime in Italy can help us to achieve a greater level of understanding of the dynamics at play in the 2020s. The transition in mass culture which we are experiencing today, fuelled by the rapid changes in the media industries and challenges posed by the digital world, and driven by technological advancements, echoes that of the 1930s, when new printing techniques influenced the way culture was produced and consumed. This book cannot provide an answer to the oft-debated issue of whether we are living through a ‘new 1930s’, but it can certainly help us to appreciate what the Fascist totalitarian project was; what the reasons for and aims in controlling the press were; and how transnational forces and cultural exchange can shape a society and contribute to building (or challenging) national identity.

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