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L'Italia Futurista

L’Italia futurista will be the first dynamic Italian journal.” With these words, Emilio Settimelli announced the launch of one of the most important Futurist periodicals, set apart from others of its time by the numerous, impressive parole in libertà in its graphics.

First published on June 1, 1916 – that is, after the discontinuation of the Florentine periodical Lacerba - L’Italia futurista represented the main forum for artists and writers connected to Second Florentine Futurism, up until its very last issue on February 11, 1918. The periodical not only published articles on various topics, but also published serial novels, drawings, manifestos, sequences of Futurist Synthetic Theater, and other Futurist projects.

Two long-term collaborators, Mario Carli and Remo Chiti, joined the founding directors Emilio Settimelli, Arnaldo and Bruno Ginanni-Corradini.  They published contributions of the Milanese group, centred around Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the 'spiritus rector' and founder of the Futurist movement, which included Umberto Boccioni and Giacomo Balla. Their contributions often focused on the theme of war as an instrument for vigorous renewal and the fight against Passatism.

A cadre of new collaborators, like Giuseppe Steiner, Francesco Cangiullo, Angelo Rognoni and the brothers Neri and  Vieri Nannetti, were behind the frequent and striking parole in libertà (at least one out of the four pages was dedicated to them).  There was also a rubric for very young, less-known Futurists.

Surprisingly, the group involved a number of female artists.  Also striking is L’Italia futurista’s concern for the paranormal and occult, an interest they shared with many other avant-garde movements of the early Novecento, a topic which deserves serious study.

Under the aegis of the first directors Bruno Corra and Emilio Settimelli – the manager in charge was Federico Querci - L’Italia futurista was initially published biweekly in a 42 x 58 cm format. In the second year, the periodical continued to feature content ranging widely between thematic poles like war and literature, theater and science, cinema and architecture, art and politics, but there were changes in management: the periodical took on a new manager (Poggio Riziero), and  Arnaldo Ginna replaced his brother as director, together with Settimelli.

The format was reduced from Number 10 in 1917 to 38 x 50 cm; the  periodical was published weekly and then biweekly again from August 12, 1917; and the publication place moved from Prato (Stabilimenti grafici M. Martini, Lito-Tipografia E. Bruschi, Via Datini, Tipografia Succursale Vestri R°. Orfanotrofio Magnolfi) to Florence (Stabilimenti Tipografici Vallecchi in via Ricasoli n. 8).

Zitierte Literatur:

Papini, Maria Carla (ed.): L’Italia futurista  (1916-1918), Rome 1977.

Salaris, Claudia: Storia del futurismo: libri, giornali, manifesti, Rome 1992.