Staging Fascism

The Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution

Bibliographic Data

ID10072912
AuthorsM Stone (0000-0003-3629-2941, corresponding author)
Year1993
Volume28
Issue2
Pages215-243
Publication date1993-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Contemporary History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0094 • E-ISSN: 1461-7250
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/002200949302800202
OpenAlexW2054795301
LanguageEN
Citations received17

On the morning of 28 October 1932, the tenth anniversary of the fascist assumption of power, Benito Mussolini inaugurated the most enduring propaganda event of the fascist dictatorship. As the Duce reviewed the assembled guards of honour and passed the cheering crowds to open the doors of the Mostra della rivoluzionefascista, the Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution, fascism invited Italians and foreigners alike to experience and participate in the regime's selfrepresentation. The Mostra della rivoluzione fascista recreated, through a melange of art, documentation, relics and historical simulations, the years 1914 to 1922, as interpreted by fascism after ten years in power. The exhibition's twenty-three rooms focused on each year from the beginning of the first world war until October 1922 and culminated in a Sala del Duce, Room of the Duce, and a Sacrario dei Martiri, Chapel of the Martyrs. The fascist regime, in staging its story and exposing as many citizens as possible to it, sought validation for its rule as it entered a second decade in power. After the political consolidation of the late 1920s, the Italian fascist dictatorship had broadened its focus to include the nation's cultural and social institutions. The years after 1928 witnessed fascism's consensus-building programmes, such as the draining of the Pontine marshes, the construction of the fascist 'new towns', the fight against tuberculosis and infant mortality. In this context, the Mostra della rivoluzionefascista constituted a mass culture referendum on fascism to date

Art · Art history · Democracy · Dictatorship · Exhibition · Humanities · Political science · Politics · European history and politics · History · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Law

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