Gabriele D'Annunzio

Gabriele D'Annunzio
Prince of Montenevoso
OMS CMG MVM
D'Annunzio in 1922
Comandante of Carnaro
In office
12 September 1919 – 30 December 1920
Preceded byZoltán Jekelfalussy (Governor of the City of Fiume and its District)
Succeeded byRiccardo Zanella (President of the Free State of Fiume)
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
5 April 1897 – 17 May 1900
ConstituencyOrtona a Mare
Personal details
Born(1863-03-12)12 March 1863
Pescara, Italy
Died1 March 1938(1938-03-01) (aged 74)
Gardone Riviera, Italy
Resting placeVittoriale degli italiani, Gardone Riviera, Lake Garda, Italy
Political partyHistorical Right
(1897–1898)
Historical Far Left
(1898–1900)
Italian Nationalist Association
(1910–1923)
Spouse
(m. 1883)
Domestic partnerEleonora Duse (1898–1901)
Children
  • Mario (1884–1964)
  • Gabriellino (1886–1945)
  • Ugo Veniero (1887–1945)
  • Renata Anguissola (1893–1976)
  • Gabriele Cruyllas (1897–1978)
Parent(s)Francesco Paolo Rapagnetta and Luisa de Benedictis
ProfessionJournalist, poet, soldier
Nickname(s)Il Vate ("The Poet"); Il Profeta ("The Prophet")
Military service
Branch/service Royal Italian Army
Royal Air Force
Years of service1915–1918
RankGeneral (honorary)
Lieutenant colonel
Major
Unit3rd Army
Arditi
Battles/wars
Writing career
Period20th century
GenrePoetry, novel
SubjectIndividualism, existentialism
Literary movementDecadence
Years active1879–1938
Notable works
Signature

General Gabriele D'Annunzio, Prince of Montenevoso OMS CMG MVM (UK: /dæˈnʊntsi/,[1] US: /dɑːˈnn-/,[2] Italian: [ɡabriˈɛːle danˈnuntsjo]; 12 March 1863 – 1 March 1938), sometimes written d'Annunzio as he used to sign himself,[3] was an Italian poet, playwright, orator, journalist, aristocrat, and Royal Italian Army officer during World War I. He occupied a prominent place in Italian literature from 1889 to 1910 and in its political life from 1914 to 1924. He was often referred to by the epithets il Vate ("the Poet"; the Italian vate directly stems from Latin vates, and its meaning is a poet with special emphasis on prophetic, inspiring, or divining qualities) and il Profeta ("the Prophet").[4]

D'Annunzio was associated with the Decadent movement in his literary works, which interplayed closely with French symbolism and British aestheticism. Such works represented a turn against the naturalism of the preceding romantics[clarification needed] and was both sensuous and mystical. He came under the influence of Friedrich Nietzsche, which would find outlets in his literary and later political contributions. His affairs with several women, including Eleonora Duse and Luisa Casati, received public attention. In his politics, which evolved many times, he associated himself with socialism and the progressivist views of the political left, responding to the illiberal and reactionary policies of Luigi Pelloux,[4] as well as with the Historical Far Left.[5]

During the Great War, D'Annunzio's image in Italy transformed from literary figure to national war hero.[6] He was associated with the elite Arditi storm troops of the Italian Army and took part in actions such as the Flight over Vienna. As part of an Italian nationalist reaction against the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, he set up the short-lived Italian Regency of Carnaro in Fiume with himself as Duce. The Charter of Carnaro made music the fundamental principle of the state, which was corporatist in nature.[7] Although D'Annunzio later preached nationalism and never called himself a fascist, he has been credited with partially inventing Italian fascism,[8] as both his ideas and his aesthetics were an influence upon Benito Mussolini. At the same time, he was an influence on Italian socialists and an early inspiration to the first phase of the Italian resistance movement to fascism.[4]

  1. ^ "d'Annunzio, Gabriele". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ "D'Annunzio". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  3. ^ Gatti, Guglielmo (1956). Vita di Gabriele d'Annunzio (in Italian). Florence: Sansoni. pp. 1–2.
  4. ^ a b c Alosco, Antonio (May 2020). "Il percorso socialista di Gabriele D'Annunzio tra storia e letteratura". Forum Italicum: A Journal of Italian Studies (in Italian). 54 (1): 377–390. doi:10.1177/0014585820909283. ISSN 0014-5858.
  5. ^ De Filippo, Francesco (12 December 2014). "Gabriele D'Annunzio fu anche socialista" (in Italian). ANSA. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  6. ^ "D'Annunzio and "Carnaro" irredentism". Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  7. ^ Parlato, Giuseppe (2000). La sinistra fascista [The fascist left] (in Italian). Bologna: Il Mulino. p. 88.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ledeen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).