In the mid-Twenties, Mussolini and Fascism identified Pirandello and the Teatro d’Arte as extraordinary tools of propaganda: the accurate work of the diplomatic authorities made the innumerable international tours of the playwright and his company the tangible example of the cultural ferment of the “new Italy”, as well as the core events of the international diffusion of contemporary Italian civilisation. Thanks to the great number of records collected in the Diplomatic Historical Archive of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, this research investigates how Pirandello was actually received abroad and how different was his fortune in Europe and Latin America. The study also intends to provide an original perspective on the controversial relationship between the playwright and the Fascist regime. Starting from the Pirandello affair, the present essay tries to framework the strategies that, from the late Liberal period, started to embed performative arts into the variegated armoury of Italian cultural diplomacy, and also intends to show that even in the context of soft power the theatre scene of the Twenties appears vital and open to unexpected paths.

A metà anni Venti, Mussolini e il fascismo individuano in Pirandello e nel Teatro d’Arte dei formidabili strumenti di propaganda: l’attento lavoro delle autorità diplomatiche rende le numerose tournée internazionali del drammaturgo e della sua compagnia degli esempi tangibili del fermento della “nuova Italia” e dei momenti centrali per la diffusione all’estero della cultura italiana contemporanea. Attraverso la ricca documentazione conservata presso l’Archivio storico diplomatico del Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale, lo studio indaga l’effettiva ricezione di Pirandello sui mercati stranieri e la diversa fortuna in Europa e America latina, offrendo al contempo uno sguardo inedito sul controverso rapporto tra il drammaturgo e il regime. Muovendo dal caso pirandelliano, il saggio propone un primo inquadramento delle strategie che a partire dagli ultimi anni dell’età liberale introdussero le arti performative nel variegato arsenale della diplomazia culturale italiana, dimostrando come anche nell’ambito del soft power la scena teatrale degli anni Venti si dimostri vitale e aperta a percorsi inattesi.

Una storia in chiaroscuro: Pirandello e il Teatro d’Arte come strumenti di soft power

Matteo Paoletti
2021

Abstract

In the mid-Twenties, Mussolini and Fascism identified Pirandello and the Teatro d’Arte as extraordinary tools of propaganda: the accurate work of the diplomatic authorities made the innumerable international tours of the playwright and his company the tangible example of the cultural ferment of the “new Italy”, as well as the core events of the international diffusion of contemporary Italian civilisation. Thanks to the great number of records collected in the Diplomatic Historical Archive of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, this research investigates how Pirandello was actually received abroad and how different was his fortune in Europe and Latin America. The study also intends to provide an original perspective on the controversial relationship between the playwright and the Fascist regime. Starting from the Pirandello affair, the present essay tries to framework the strategies that, from the late Liberal period, started to embed performative arts into the variegated armoury of Italian cultural diplomacy, and also intends to show that even in the context of soft power the theatre scene of the Twenties appears vital and open to unexpected paths.
2021
Matteo Paoletti
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/842672
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