AHC: Futurist Italy

Rush Tarquin

Gone Fishin'
Futurism morphs directly into a political movement (rather than being an influence on Fascism) and takes power in Italy. Could be a more dire situation for Italy during WWI, before or after.
 
Last edited:
The futurists were a funky group, I'd be interested in this just for their effects on Italian food alone. Death penalty for preparing pasta, anyone?

To fulfill the challenge, maybe Musso just becomes a straight-up futurist rather than forming his own ideology - his views changed a lot around the time of WWI anyways, so it isn't too far-fetched. He'd still have the charisma and nationalism to win him popular appeal, and he'd still have the glorification of progress and violence, but his social policies would be very different.

I'd see a Futurist Italy as more totalitarian and more prone to the weird excesses that are a staple of modern dictatorships. Rather than calling back to Rome, Mussolini's dictatorship might have an almost sci-fi aesthetic to it. Maybe there'd be a concerted attempt to develop a "New Man" through total social indoctrination.
 
The futurists were a funky group, I'd be interested in this just for their effects on Italian food alone. Death penalty for preparing pasta, anyone?

To fulfill the challenge, maybe Musso just becomes a straight-up futurist rather than forming his own ideology - his views changed a lot around the time of WWI anyways, so it isn't too far-fetched. He'd still have the charisma and nationalism to win him popular appeal, and he'd still have the glorification of progress and violence, but his social policies would be very different.

I'd see a Futurist Italy as more totalitarian and more prone to the weird excesses that are a staple of modern dictatorships. Rather than calling back to Rome, Mussolini's dictatorship might have an almost sci-fi aesthetic to it. Maybe there'd be a concerted attempt to develop a "New Man" through total social indoctrination.

It is indeed true the rise of Fascism softened the Futurism movement, even if generally the dictature respect to Nazi Germany was generally more opened towards artistic avantgarde movements... In the end, some elements of Futurism directly influenced Italian Rationalism.

Futurism as more totalitarian than Fascism? Well, I personally didn't deny the possibility, considering how the movement structured its ideals of renovament of the society... But it's always hard for utopian projects to be put in reality, so I'm not sure if Mussolini, certainly more concrete respect the Futurists, will completely agreed to apply completely these ideas...
 
I'd see a Futurist Italy as more totalitarian and more prone to the weird excesses that are a staple of modern dictatorships. Rather than calling back to Rome, Mussolini's dictatorship might have an almost sci-fi aesthetic to it. Maybe there'd be a concerted attempt to develop a "New Man" through total social indoctrination.

Italians in space? Perhaps the Italians might hire a German scientist (ahem von Braun ahem) to jump start the Italian Space Program.

I would like an Italian futurist flag...
 
It'll probably be a few months until I get to Futurists proper, but I do have a timeline chugging along on the subject.

If anyone has read the Futurist cookbook you'll know they could do anything! :)
 
Top