Prižiznennaja recepcija Velimira Chlebnikova v Italii (La ricezione di Velimir Chlebnikov in Italia durante la sua vita)

The article examines the reactions of the Italian press to Marinetti's visit to Russia where Khlebnikov's name is mentioned for the first time. The official press release and Fabiani's article for the newspaper "Il Piccolo della sera" are quoted, as well as an article by Zanetti in "Il Giornale d'Italia", in which the journalist, despite his obvious skepticism, expounds Khlebnikov's views. Castagna's article on Russian futurism, where a poem by Khlebnikov is quoted, for the newspaper "Il Resto del Carlino" is also analysed. Furthermore we analyse the article by futurist Settimelli, published in the magazine "L'Italia futurista" in March 1917, which enthusiastically recalls Khlebnikov's "prophecy" about the fall of an empire in 1917, which is interpreted in an anti-German sense. This sheds new light on the widespread interpretation of Khlebnikov's famous prophecy as allegedly predicting the collapse of the Russian Empire.