The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts - UCLA Department ...

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and so o{r. As dre grounds of dre eeme were refuie (thr:oqh pnrctrases made
betqreen 1922 md 1 935, rhe rord size of dre property uas etryanded !o nhe
tnaars*agmmatety twent'"two rcres), and with $e gradual construction
of 6emrin oomptex iself, Mamai had &e qpponunity ro cr€ae nery sgucnr€s
as nEll. In these we can see lrow dre reinterpretadon of claesical sryles
srd rnotl&, tlplcal of rhe erchttectrrre of the Fascisr pe@ dnrides wift a
gfes€r gpoflffiical rigor, wtrkh Ukes the place of the arly "decotrsir€"
irnprlse
behind ll t/lrcrtele. Maroni's btrildkgs on *re gfounds, hmrerrcr, geoefdty
lack the grandeur ard monumenal tw of Marcello placentini's work, rnd
are refined by tlre addition of fured\rc nnods tahen fronr Brarnanre and
8rurellerchi. In 1926, wi*r the rmnr.re from the N*iond Editton, work @an
on rhe schihrnondo (flg. 11), tlre wu Musetrm, and &e arcades dur connect tlre
rarlorsbuildingeand enclo$ethe unall piaza inftonrof tle hlory(wtth lts
*one pillar fuorared with trxatpioru and nuc&s, frosr *re center ofvrhictr
rires a ship's mast bearlng * qrcoden $fiantette of ttp virgin of Dalnutta). Ttre
IPar Musun uas intei&d to be a "lMrE1 museum whlch would be host to
crln€rts, exhibitlons, and lsurre series. In it, three logias wse to mnah the
rnementos of heroic rcts in bmles on land on tre sea" and in ttre *y In the cupolaof
the large ceffr"l halluas hungtlreairptane inwtrich D'Arinuruio had
flonnqrerVienna The true mtrseum and pubtictheaterare, drorgh, tlrc
grounds of tlre esate itself which-besides tt€ warstrip ltrg&&2,
"dtar
of *re
Itsli4ns"-cCIfltaln a networkof smafl buildings, flagtr:oles (frofirwhich raise
*ips' riass), pev{ions, ftmerarf pilhrs, and tabernacles, all $raregtcal$ arrarged
ary the uree and flmer-ftlld tm, rm Joined by sratrw"ap or sone
rmps. D'Arnunzb used to ake hls "welcodle"
visiuT to see drese msrurs$,
alhih upl*inlng to them the meaning of each one and interpmtng the
synffi aad devfces agrnrcd on thern or placed orner them. Ttrey celebrate
€gi$ofu frorn dre wer or honr Fiume wtrile alluding-in the style of
D'Annunzio's politlcal and propaganda poetry and oratory-to the heroism
ofwarriors from dre GrrcRoman world and to the christian thesre of wifice
as epreludeto rebirfi. Besides lalianrcterans and ex-legtonnaries,
D'Annundo's visitors lnchrded ountlcss ltalian and foreign anisa and men of
kters, as well as illustrious grrecs of arery ldn4 such as Mussolini hirnself (fig.
16). The Arengo, in an fonporent pwitiur on the grounds, is a small round enclsure
bordered bya mntinmus lmrstone bench and surrounded by a series
ofcolumns andcapitals of dftringofden and st1'les, each ofwhich celebrares
a "victoqf,
includirg the bloody tr€at at Caporeao. tuindng to the black marble
column, D'Annrrnzio usdtoexplain &ar itrepresenrd a moralvictoryby
Italyowr itself, t{mlio Barllli, an ex-legionnailr, remunred in 1930 rtrar in
*sancd
this
pke" ffieleD'Annunzi,o perficrmd his rtual cererpnies and celebrrd
his paniodc rttes with ttre "&irhful" on ssnifm* anntrrrsaries and
o$rcr rcsions (el VilMb on GaMele D'Ararr'**. F.blence Bemporad,
19S). BariIIi eloquently described the effect fu asirft rp ll \&toriale was
manttoproduce on the ryectatorat that tine
And dre lulians who qrme here well urdamdmdry, fld rho$e v/tp wifl
corre trcre will urlderstard even bffer &Ieeqqnltpt mrc*r de poer lorcs
our (ountrfi er race, ard our lan4 trtr t*i*sw@r'ttprcserimtive not
only d our m'n race and our lasC" bu of drc ferfd &e tdin peoples,
ard tpw *l€ Nation can ala pride in isdnd*dm despair eith€r ficr
*rc future or for its fo'rmdained gml.
Froducirgmen
equal to Gabriele D'Annunzio, rtre noteM Wwrr&,