The story of Gabriele DAnnunzio: poet daredevil
- & Fascist. In September 1919 Gabriele DAnnunzio successful poet & occasional politician declared himself Commandante of the city of Fiume in modern-day Croatia. His intention
- to establish a utopia based on his fascist & artistic ideals. It was the dramatic pinnacle to an outrageous career. Lucy Hughes-Hallett charts the controversial life of DAnnunzio the debauched artist who became a national hero. His evolution from idealist Romantic to radical right-wing revolutionary is a political parable. Through his ideological journey culminating in the failure of the Fiume endeavour we witness the political turbulence of early 20th-century Europe & the emergence of fascism. In The Pike Hughes-Hallett addresses the cult of nationalism & the origins of political extremism
- & at the centre of the book stands the charismatic DAnnunzio: a figure as deplorable as he is fascinating.