Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T03:06:17.945Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘The Futurist mountains’: Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's experiences of mountain combat in the First World War

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2016

Selena Daly
Selena Daly*
Affiliation:
University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
*
∗Email: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's first experience of active combat was as a member of the Lombard Battalion of Volunteer Cyclists and Motorists in the autumn of 1915, when he fought in the mountains of Trentino at the border of Italy and Austria-Hungary. This article examines his experience of mountain combat and how he communicated aspects of it both to specialist, Futurist audiences and to the general public and soldiers, through newspaper articles, manifestos, ‘words-in-freedom’ drawings, speeches and essays written between 1915 and 1917. Marinetti's aim in all of these wartime writings was to gain maximum support for the Futurist movement. Thus, he adapted his views to suit his audience, at times highlighting the superiority of the Futurist volunteers over the Alpine soldiers and at others seeking to distance Futurism from middle-class intellectualism in order to appeal to the ordinary soldier. Marinetti interpreted the war's relationship with the natural environment through an exclusively Futurist lens. He sought to ‘futurise’ the Alpine landscape in an effort to reconcile the urban and technophilic philosophy of his movement with the realities of combat in the isolated, rural and primitive mountains of Trentino.

Keywords

Filippo Tommaso MarinettiFuturismmountainsFirst World WarTrentinoalpini
Type
Articles
Information
Modern Italy , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , November 2013 , pp. 323 - 338
Copyright
Copyright © Association for the study of Modern Italy 

References

Adamson, W. L. 2008. “Fascinating Futurism: The Historiographical Politics of an Historical Avant-Garde” Modern Italy 13(1):69–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adamson, W. L. 2010. “How Avant-Gardes End – and Begin: Italian Futurism in Historical Perspective” New Literary History 41(4):855–874.Google Scholar
Amat, J.-P. 1997. “Les effets de la Grande Guerre sur les paysages entre Argonne et Woëvre” Enquêtes Rurales 2:123–152.Google Scholar
Armiero, M. 2010. “Natural and Political Landscapes in World War I.” In Nature and History in Modern Italy, edited by Armiero, M., and Hall, M., 231–250. Athens: Ohio University Press.Google Scholar
Armiero, M. 2011. A Rugged Nation: Mountains and the Making of Modern Italy. Cambridge: White Horse.Google Scholar
Battisti, C. 1916. Gli alpini. Milan: Treves.Google Scholar
Bellini, D., ed. 2006. Con Boccioni a Dosso Casina: I testi e le immagini dei futuristi in battaglia. Rovereto: Nicolodi.Google Scholar
Bellosi, G., and Savini, M., eds. 2002. Verificato per censura. Lettere e cartoline di soldati romagnoli nella prima guerra mondiale. Cesena: Il Ponte Vecchio.Google Scholar
Berghaus, G. 1996. Futurism and Politics: Between Anarchist Rebellion and Fascist Revolution, 1909–1944. Providence: Berghahn.Google Scholar
Berghaus, G. 2009. “Futurism and the Technological Imagination Poised between Machine Cult and Machine Angst.” In Futurism and the Technological Imagination, edited by Berghaus, G., 1–39. Amsterdam: Rodopi.Google Scholar
Brantz, D. 2009. “Environments of Death: Trench Warfare on the Western Front, 1914–1918.” In War and the Environment: Military Destruction in the Modern Age, edited by Closmann, C., 68–91. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.Google Scholar
Campana, M. 1993 [1918]. Un anno sul Pasubio, edited by Massignani, A. Novale di Valdagno: Rossato.Google Scholar
Chasseaud, P. 2006. Rat's Alley: British Trench Names of the Western Front, 1914–1918. Staplehurst: Spellmount.Google Scholar
Codara, R. 1915a. “I VCA di Milano sono partiti per il fronte.” La Gazzetta dello Sport, July 26.Google Scholar
Codara, R. 1915b. “L'ora triste pei VCA. Congedo e scioglimento.” La Gazzetta dello Sport, December 6.Google Scholar
Corà, V. 2008. “La guerra in montagna.” In La Grande Guerra, 2 vols, edited by Isnenghi, M., and Ceschin, D., vol. 2, 647–655. Turin: UTET.Google Scholar
Critelli, M. P. 2006. “L'alpestre faccia dell'eroe. La montagna tra simbolo e panorama.” In Der Erste Weltkrieg im Alpenraum. Erfahrung, Deutung, Erinnerung/La Grande Guerra nell'arco alpino. Esperienze e memoria, edited by Kuprian, H. J. W., and Überegger, O., 61–72. Innsbruck: Universitätsverlag Wagner.Google Scholar
Drucker, J. 1994. The Visible Word: Experimental Typography and Modernist Art (1909–1923). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
de l'Armée, État-Major. 1908. “Il Corpo Nazionale dei Volontari Ciclisti e Automobilisti” Revue militaire des armées étrangères 969:186–188.Google Scholar
Francioli, G. 2008. “Interview with M.R. Lecce [1980]. In “Il filo tenace di una ricerca, 1978–2008: Da un ritaglio di giornale a un inedito video-documentario sul futurismo” by Franco, F., 37–41. In Futuristi a Dosso Casina, exhibition catalogue Museo di Riva del Garda, July 12-November 2 2008, edited by Sansone, L. Milan: Mazzotta.Google Scholar
Franzina, E., ed. 2003. Una trincea chiamata Dolomiti 1915–1917. Una guerra, due trincee/Ein Krieg – zwei Schützengräben. Udine: Paolo Gaspari.Google Scholar
Fussell, P. 1975. The Great War and Modern Memory. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Gentile, E. 1988. “Il futurismo e la politica. Dal nazionalismo modernista al fascismo (1909–1920).” In Futurismo, cultura e politica, edited by De Felice, R., 105–159. Turin: Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli.Google Scholar
Gibelli, A. 1998. La Grande Guerra degli italiani, 1915–1918. Florence: Sansone.Google Scholar
Härmänmaa, M. 2009. “Futurism and Nature: The Death of the Great Pan?” In Futurism and the Technological Imagination, edited by Berghaus, G., 337–360. Amsterdam: Rodopi.Google Scholar
Helphand, K. I. 2006. Defiant Gardens: Making Gardens in Wartime. San Antonio, TX: Trinity University Press.Google Scholar
Isnenghi, M. 2007. Il mito della Grande Guerra. 7th ed. Bologna: Il Mulino.Google Scholar
Keller, T. 2009. “The Mountains Roar: The Alps during the Great War” Environmental History 14(2):405–421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuprian, H. J. W., and Überegger, O., eds. 2006. Der Erste Weltkrieg im Alpenraum. Erfahrung, Deutung, Erinnerung/La Grande Guerra nell'arco alpino. Esperienze e memoria. Innsbruck: Universitätsverlag Wagner.Google Scholar
Leoni, D. 2007. “Guerra di montagna/Gebirgskrieg.” In La prima guerra mondiale, edited by Audoin-Rouzeau, S. and Becker, J.-J., Italian ed. edited by Gibelli, A., 2 vols, vol. 1, 237–246. Turin: Einaudi.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1909a. “Foundation and Manifesto of Futurism.” In Critical Writings, edited by Berghaus, G., translated by Thompson, D., 11–17. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1909b. “Second Futurist Proclamation: Let's Kill off the Moonlight.” In Critical Writings, edited by Berghaus, G., translated by Thompson, D., 22–31. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1911a. “Second Futurist Political Manifesto.” In Critical Writings, edited by Berghaus, G., translated by Thompson, D., 73–74. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1911b. “We Renounce our Symbolist Masters, the Last of All Lovers of the Moonlight.” In Critical Writings, edited by Berghaus, G., translated by Thompson, D., 43–46. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1912. “Technical Manifesto of Futurist Literature.” In Critical Writings, edited by Berghaus, G., translated by Thompson, D., 107–119. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1913. “Third Futurist Political Manifesto.” In Critical Writings, edited by Berghaus, G., translated by Thompson, D., 75–77. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1915a. “Movimento politico futurista.” In Teoria e invenzione futurista, 6th ed., edited by De Maria, L., 337–341. Milan: Mondadori, 2005.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1915b. “Speech to fellow soldiers,” in Codara, R., “La celebrazione sportiva e futurista del venti settembre fra i volontari ciclisti-automobilisti.” La Gazzetta dello Sport, September 27. In Con Boccioni a Dosso Casina: I testi e le immagini dei futuristi in battaglia, edited by Bellini, D., 73–78. Rovereto: Nicolodi, 2006.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1915c. “The Meaning of War for Futurism: Interview with L'Avvenire.” In Critical Writings, edited by Berghaus, G., translated by Thompson, D., 238–244. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1915d. “Trieste, la nostra bella polveriera.” In Teoria e invenzione futurista, 6th ed., edited by De Maria, L., 289–290. Milan: Mondadori, 2005.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1916a. “Battaglia a 9 piani” Vela Latina 4(1), January 8.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1916b. “Con Boccioni a Dosso Casina” L'Italia Futurista 1(6), August 25.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1916c. “Orgoglio italiano.” In Teoria e invenzione futurista, 6th ed., edited by De Maria, L., 502–506. Milan: Mondadori, 2005.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1916d. “Quinte e scene della campagna del Battaglione Lombardo Volontari Ciclisti sul lago di Garda e sull'Altissimo. Parte I.” La Gazzetta dello Sport, January 31.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1916e. “Quinte e scene della campagna del Battaglione Lombardo Volontari Ciclisti sul lago di Garda e sull'Altissimo. Parte II.” La Gazzetta dello Sport, February 7.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1917. Come si seducono le donne. Reprint of 1st ed., with introduction by Agnese, G. Florence: Vallecchi, 2003.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1969. Lettere ruggenti a F. Balilla Pratella. Marinetti, Papini, Balbo, Boccioni, De Pisis, Severini, Folgore, Mascagni, Russolo, edited by Lugaresi, G. Milan: Quaderni dell'Osservatore.Google Scholar
Marinetti, F. T. 1987. Taccuini, 1915–1921, edited by Bertoni, A. Bologna: Il Mulino.Google Scholar
Mondini, M. 2008. Alpini: Parole e immagini di un mito guerriero. Rome: Laterza.Google Scholar
Mosse, G. 1988. “Futurismo e cultura politica in Europa: una prospettiva globale.” In Futurismo, cultura e politica, edited by De Felice, R., 13–31. Turin: Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli.Google Scholar
Mosse, G. 1990. Fallen Soldiers: Reshaping the Memory of the World Wars. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Omodeo, A. 1968. Momenti della vita di guerra. Dai diari e dalle lettere dei caduti 1915–1918. Turin: Einaudi.Google Scholar
Pearson, C. 2012. “Researching Militarized Landscapes: A Literature Review on War and the Militarization of the Environment” Landscape Research 37(1):115–133.Google Scholar
Rigillo, M. 2008. Dentro la guerra: lettere dal fronte della Valle del Chiese 1915–1916, edited by Poletti, G. Storo: Associazione Il Chiese.Google Scholar
Saito, Y. 2008. “Appreciating Nature on Its Own Terms.” In Nature, Aesthetics, and Environmentalism: From Beauty to Duty, edited by Carlson, A., and Lintott, S., 151–168. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Sanguineti, E. 1975. “La guerra futurista.” In Ideologia e linguaggio. Milan: Feltrinelli.Google Scholar
Sansone, L. 2008. “Ugo Piatti e il Battaglione Lombardo Volontari Ciclisti Automobilisti.” In Futuristi a Dosso Casina, exhibition catalogue Museo di Riva del Garda, July 12–November 2 2008, edited by Sansone, L., 11–36. Milan: Mazzotta.Google Scholar
Saunders, N. J. 2003. Trench Art: Materialities and Memories of War. Oxford: Berg.Google Scholar
Todero, F. 2003. “Alpini, guerra in montagna e letteratura: la nascita di un mito.” In Una trincea chiamata Dolomiti 1915–1917. Una guerra, due trinee/Ein Krieg – zwei Schützengräben, 81–90. Udine: Paolo Gaspari.Google Scholar
Wedekind, M., and Ambrosio, C., eds. 2007. Alla conquista dell'immaginario: l'alpinismo come proiezione di modelli culturali e sociali borghesi tra Otto e Novecento. Treviso: Edizioni Antilia.Google Scholar
White, J. J. 2010. “Iconic and Indexical Elements in Italian Futurist Poetry: F.T. Marinetti's ‘words-in-freedom’.” In Signergy, edited by Conradie, J. C., Johl, R., Beukes, M., Fischer, O., and Ljungberg, C., 129–156. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Wilcox, V. 2012. “‘Weeping tears of blood’: Exploring Italian Soldiers' Emotions in the First World War” Modern Italy 17(2):171–184.Google Scholar
Wilson, R. J. 2011. “‘Tommifying’ the Western Front, 1914–1918” Journal of Historical Geography 37(3):338–347.Google Scholar
Wilson, R. J. 2012. Landscapes of the Western Front: Materiality during the Great War. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar