Leo Longanesi

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Leo Longanesi
Longanesi in the early 1950s
Longanesi in the early 1950s
BornLeopoldo Longanesi
(1905-08-30)30 August 1905
Bagnacavallo, Italy
DiedNovember 27, 1957(1957-11-27) (aged 52)
Milan, Italy
Occupation
  • Journalist
  • publisher
  • playwright
Alma materUniversity of Bologna (J.D.)
Period20th century
Genre
SubjectItalian society and customs
Literary movementStrapaese
Years active1920–1957
Spouse
Maria Spadini
​
​
(m. 1939; died 1957)​
Children2 daughters, 1 son
This article is part of a series on
Conservatism in Italy
Ideologies
Principles
History
Intellectuals
Politicians
Parties
Active

Defunct

Think tanks
Media
Related topics

Leopoldo "Leo" Longanesi (30 August 1905 – 27 September 1957) was an Italian journalist, publicist, screenplayer, playwright, writer, and publisher. Longanesi is mostly known in his country for his satirical works on Italian society and people. He also founded the eponymous publishing house in Milan in 1946 and was a mentor-like figure for Indro Montanelli (a journalist and historian, and the founder of Il Giornale, one of Italy's biggest newspapers).[1][2][3]

Between 1927 and 1950, he published several magazines, including L'Italiano (1926), Omnibus (1937), and Il Borghese (1950), the last of which is a cultural and satirical weekly paper with conservative orientation.[4] Longanesi described himself as a "cultural anarchist",[5][6] and he headed a popular right-wing group,[7] which embraced conservatism,[8][9] agrarian virtues,[10] anti-democracy, and nostalgic post-fascism after World War II.[11][12][13]

Longanesi was an elegant and refined cartoonist who wrote several books of memoirs, characterised by a ruthless streak and Italian fascist nostalgic accents (In piedi e seduti, Una vita, and Ci salveranno le vecchie zie?).[14]

Biography

Early life and career

Born in Bagnacavallo, Leo was the son of Paolo Longanesi, director of a gunpowder factory in Lugo, and Angela Marangoni, who came from a local, wealthy landowner family. In 1911, when Leo was six, the Longanesi family moved to Bologna, where, in keeping with the family's affluence, Leo attended the most prestigious school and learned French at Galvani High School. In 1920, Leo wrote his first printed sheet, Il Marchese, at the age of 15. He then wrote in the monthly magazines of Zibaldone dei giovani (1921), Il Toro (1923), and Il Dominio (1924), his youth and writing style catching attention. After high school, Longanesi earned a bachelor's degree in law at the University of Bologna.

After university, Longanesi developed his social circles by joining the city's worldly elite, literary cafés, and nighthawk pubs. He became friends with leading intellectuals like

Italian Fascism to be the bearer of rural traditions and patriotic virtues.[10]

Living between Rome and Bologna, Longanesi worked with the magazine Il Selvaggio (transl. "The Savage") from 1925 to 1929, and created a weekly magazine L'Italiano (transl. "The Italian") from 1926 to 1942, headquartered first in Bologna and then in Rome, with Maccari, American playwright Henry Furst, and writer Giovanni Comisso, former legionnaire of Fiume with Gabriele D'Annunzio. At this time, Benito Mussolini was establishing his police state, banning opposition parties, and imposing a cult of personality based on his figure (the Duce)[16] and the National Fascist Party, the only legal party. Longanesi and his collaborators grew close to the new regime, and started a cultural debate on the relationship between arts and fascism. In 1926, Longanesi wrote his first great work, the "Vade-mecum of the perfect Fascist". The book expresses, with the motto "Mussolini ha sempre ragione" (transl. "Mussolini is always right"), a mix of adoration and caricature of Mussolini's dictatorship.[17] During Mussolini's dictatorship (from 1926 to 1943), Longanesi was both loyal and critical to Fascism, and was ironic about the Battle for Grain (marshes' recovery policy), the mystification of the Ancient Rome, and imperialist dreams of Africa.[18]

Under Fascism

In 1927, Longanesi created his first publishing house L'Italiano Editions (property of L'Italiano magazine), and published works of Fascist writers who were critical of the regime, such as Malaparte,

general election (which presented only the Fascist Party), but was not elected. In July that year, Longanesi was hired to direct L'Assalto, which he managed until he resigned in 1931. His dismissal was because of a strong and irreverent piece on Senator Giuseppe Tanari, financer of the squadrismo (literally "squadronism"), a radical tendency inside Fascism, members of which attacked, assaulted, and sometimes killed political dissidents. Longanesi was prompted to write the article by an incident in May 1931, when he attended a performance of conductor Arturo Toscanini at the Bologna Communal Theatre, also attended by Galeazzo Ciano, Mussolini's son-in-law, and Arpinati, Longanesi's old friend. At the end of the piece, Ciano and Arpinati called on Toscanini to play Giovinezza (transl. "Youth"), a popular song among the Fascists. When Toscanini refused the request, Ciano and Arpinati left the theatre disappointed, and radical Fascists assaulted Toscanini afterwards for his dissent. Longanesi was erroneously believed to be the first one to slap him, as there was an article against the conductor's refusal the following day.[21][22]

In May 1932, Longanesi moved with his parents and grandparents to Rome and bought an elegant house in Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. He also moved L'Italiano and Il Selvaggio to the capital. Both magazines were in decline and Longanesi directed them almost alone. Despite his criticisms, Longanesi was chosen by the regime to organize a literary exhibition on Mussolini for the 10th anniversary of the March on Rome, which opened on 28 October 1932. After the start of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War in 1935, Longanesi became the chief of propaganda. Longanesi requested to direct a big newspaper in return for his services to Fascism, but was refused by the regime, which feared that new magazines and papers, especially under direction of critics of the dictatorship, would undermine the Fascists' strict control over the press.[23] However, Longanesi's connection with Mussolini's son Vittorio allowed him to work for Cinema, a magazine of film criticism, in September 1936. He was fired a month later for an unpleasant photographic piece on the regime.

On 3 April 1937, Longanesi created a new magazine,

Mondadori), and presented notable and rising journalists and artists like Indro Montanelli, Alberto Moravia, Vitaliano Brancati, Ennio Flaiano, Mario Soldati, Mario Pannunzio, Arrigo Benedetti, and Alberto Savinio. Despite the magazine's immediate success, Omnibus was forced to close on 2 February 1939 by the Ministry of Popular Culture (Minculpop), apparently without reason but probably for collaborations to the magazine by Jewish intellectuals like Moravia and anti-fascists like Pannunzio.[citation needed] However, Longanesi was appointed as its technical-artistic consultant[clarification needed] by Minculpop itself in 1940.[25] At the same time, he was also chosen by Rizzoli to direct a book series, Il sofà delle Muse (transl. "The Muses' Sofa"), and published successful works like The Tartar Steppe (1940), Don Giovanni in Sicily
(1941) and The Truth about the Motta Affair (1937, reedited in 1941).

Second World War

On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war against

Tunisian Campaign
in 1942, Italy fell into crisis and became more subjected to Germany.

On 25 July 1943, a

Richard III
.

Post-war, political activism and death

In January 1946, Longanesi moved to Milan with his family, while his parents moved to Imola. Shortly after, Longanesi accepted an offer from industrialist Giovanni Monti and founded the publishing house Longanesi & Co. on 1 February 1946 and simultaneously published Il Libraio (transl. "The Bookseller"), a bibliographic magazine, from 1946 to 1949. Politically, Longanesi became a prominent opponent of the new republican democracy that replaced Fascism, stating that,

Italy is a democracy in which one third of the citizens sigh for the past dictatorship, another wait for the Soviet one, and the last are conforming with the next of the Christian Democrats.[28]

In his pieces, he pokes fun both at anti-fascists ("There is who believe to be an anti-fascist only because Fascism never noticed him") and ex-fascists reused in the new system ("There is a question we must never say, 'Where we have met before?'").[29]

Longanesi was also a staunch

1948 election, fearing a victory of the Soviet-sponsored Popular Democratic Front, Longanesi and Montanelli campaigned for the "less worse" Christian Democracy (DC), printing and publishing pamphlets, fliers, posters and hosting Radio Garibaldi, an illegal FM transmission in Milan.[2][3] After the defeat of the Front, Longanesi left Il Libraio, and in 1950 founded the magazine Il Borghese, collaborating with Montanelli, Giovanni Ansaldo, Giuseppe Prezzolini, Giovanni Spadolini, Alberto Savinio, Mario Tedeschi, Ennio Flaiano, Colette Rosselli, Irene Brin, Goffredo Parise, Mario Missiroli and Piero Buscaroli. In Longanesi's view, Il Borghese should be an expression of a new right-wing anti-communist movement, who he named "Brothers of Italy's League", and organized political circles in several cities. The movement grew rapidly, attracting both unsatisfied voters and those who had been excluded from the 1950s economic miracle, especially farmers. Longanesi and his followers feared that the new media culture and consumerism would destroy traditions, disfigure the Italian landscape and brutalize culture. They also criticized the nullification of classes.[30] Longanesi was harshly critical of the government, calling it unable to balance old traditions and modernity, and of the democratic policy of universal suffrage
, stating:

The danger to democracies is universal suffrage to the masses. Giving liberty to the masses means losing liberty.

In the early 1950s, Longanesi tried to transform his movement into a large right-wing party, formed by former Fascists, monarchists, Catholics, liberals and conservatives.[31] He also visited Achille Lauro, mayor of Naples and advocate of the Monarchist National Party, to convince him to join and finance the movement, but Lauro's refusal and Longanesi's lack of political ambition lead the project to fail.[32] However, Longanesi still supported the idea of a national party, and in 1955 he organized a conference titled "What is the right[-wing] in Italy?".

His criticisms both of government and of neo-fascists led to his isolation. In 1956, Monti proposed separation between Il Borghese and Longanesi & Co., and Longanesi's refusal was used to justify ousting him from the administration council. Due to an unknown connection in

Confindustria, as reported by Ansaldo, Longanesi was able to maintain Il Borghese by himself, paying ₤5,000,000. Ansaldo later always claimed that Monti's operation was forced by governing pressures, especially from President Giovanni Gronchi, a left-leaning Christian Democrat who personally disliked Longanesi and Il Borghese, and hoped that without money it would be closed and Longanesi ruined.[33][34]

On 27 September 1957, Longanesi suffered a heart attack while in his office. It was reported that his last words were: "That is, exactly as I always hoped: quickly and among my things".[35]

He died soon after being transported to a clinic. His death was grieved by his few living friends, including Benedetti;[36] Montanelli, future founder of Il Giornale;[37] and Spadolini, future first non-Christian Democrat Prime Minister of the Italian Republic.[38]

Personal life

On 18 February 1939, shortly after the closure of Omnibus, Longanesi married Maria Spadini, daughter of Armando Spadini, whom he knew through Vincenzo Cardarelli, former L'Italiano journalist. In their marriage Longanesi had three children: Virginia (born 19 December 1939), Caterina (born 25 December 1941) and Paolo (born 6 April 1945).

While at home, Longanesi explored his passion for painting, causing some arguments with his wife for his surrealistic works. He believed in traditional and superstitious cures, such as using rabbit skin to treat sciatica.

Works

Books

  • Vade-mecum del perfetto fascista seguito da dieci assiomi per il milite ovvero Avvisi ideali (1926)
  • Cinque anni di rivoluzione (1927)
  • L'Almanacco di Strapaese, with Gino Maccari (1928)
  • Vecchio Sport (extract) (1935)
  • Piccolo dizionario borghese, with Vitaliano Brancati (1941)
  • Parliamo dell'elefante: frammenti di un diario (1947)
  • In piedi e seduti (1919–1943) (1948)
  • Il mondo cambia. Storia di cinquant'anni (1949)
  • Una vita. Romanzo (1949)
  • Il destino ha cambiato cavallo (1951)
  • Un morto fra noi (1952)
  • Ci salveranno le vecchie zie? (1953)
  • L'onesto Signor Bianchi (1953)
  • Lettera alla figlia del tipografo (1957)
  • La sua signora. Taccuino di Leo Longanesi (1957)
  • Me ne vado. Ottantun incisioni in legno (1957)
  • L'italiano in guerra, 1915–1918 (1965, posthumous)
  • I Borghesi Stanchi (1973, posthumous)
  • Il Generale Stivalone (2007, posthumous)
  • Faust a Bologna (2013, posthumous)
  • Morte dell'Imperatore (2016, posthumous)

Stage

  • Due Servi, with Mino Maccari (1924)
  • Una conferenza (1942)
  • Il commendatore (1942)
  • Il suo cavallo (1944)
  • La colpa è dell'anticamera (1946)

Film

Drawings

  • A gun aimed on Italy
  • Literary graphic (1)
  • Literary graphic (2)

Commercials

  • Supercortemaggiore (Agip)
  • Agipgas (Agip)
  • Vespa (Vespa)
  • Moto Guzzi (Moto Guzzi)
  • Adolph's (Adolph's)

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ Montanelli, Indro (30 May 2000). "Leo Longanesi era un mago". Corriere della Sera.
  2. ^ a b Merlo, Salvatore (1 March 2016). "E Longanesi creò Montanelli". Il Foglio.
  3. ^ a b "Longanesi e Montanelli: due mondi a confronto". L'Intelelttuale Dissidente. 3 January 2017.
  4. ISBN 9781579583903
    .
  5. ^ Lanna, Luciano (1 November 2016). "Ma chi l'ha detto che Longanesi fosse conservatore?". Il Dubbio.
  6. ^ Pannullo, Antonio (27 December 2017). "Longanesi, l'anarchico che coniò il motto: Mussolini ha sempre ragione". Secolo d'Italia.
  7. ^ Mascheroni, Luigi (27 July 2015). "Ironico gigante tra nani conformisti". il Giornale.
  8. ISBN 9788862882903
    .
  9. ISBN 9788843077625
    .
  10. ^ a b Barbirati, Luca (30 May 2014). "Strapaese. Ovvero la terra contro la modernità". L'Intellettuale Dissidente.
  11. ^ Ajello, Nello (23 December 1984). "Leo Longanesi, uomo del No". la Repubblica.
  12. ^ Terranova, Annalisa (3 September 2017). "Leo Longanesi, l'inafferrabile intellettuale anarchico". Lettera 43.
  13. ^ Grasso, Annalisa (2 October 2017). "Leo Longanesi, un genio anticonformista italiano che fu tutto e il suo contrario". '900 Letterario.
  14. ISBN 9781474246965
    .
  15. ^ Cimmino, Alessandra (2005). Treccani (ed.). Longanesi, Leo. Vol. 65. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  16. JSTOR j.ctt18mvkcv
    .
  17. ^ Longanesi, Leo (1926). "Mussolini ha sempre ragione". L'Italiano n. 3. p. 4.
  18. ISBN 9788830446472
    .
  19. ^ Bosworth, R.J.B. (2009). Oxford University Press (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Fascism. p. 308.
  20. ISBN 9788873710226
    .
  21. ^ Bordogna, Franco (31 July 2011). "Gli schiaffi di Longanesi, anarchico più che fascista". la Repubblica.
  22. ^ Festa, Fabrizio (16 May 1991). "Toscanini, la verità sul famoso schiaffo". la Repubblica.
  23. ^ Granata, Ivano (2015). FrancoAngeli (ed.). L'"Omnibus" di Leo Longanesi. Politica e cultura (aprile 1937-gennaio 1939). p. 14.
  24. ^ Poma, Stefano (22 November 2017). "Omnibus, il settimanale che cambiò il giornalismo italiano". l'Universale. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  25. ISBN 9788831780612
    .
  26. ^ a b "Leo Longanesi: la fabbrica del dissenso". Internet Culturale. 2011.
  27. ^ a b Castellani, Massimiliano (29 April 2017). "Nel luglio del 1943 Longanesi si cimentò nel cinema girando "Dieci minuti di vita". Pellicola politica incompiuta e di cui restano scampoli da riscoprire". cinquantamila.it.
  28. ^ Sorgi, Marcello (27 September 2017). "I 70 anni di Longanesi nell'antologia di Buttafuoco". La Stampa.
  29. ^ Poma, Stefano; Veltri, Elio (2015). L'Universale (ed.). Il 25 aprile. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  30. ^ Longanesi, Leo (1957). La sua signora.
  31. ^ Veneziani, Marcello (26 September 2017). "Leo Longanesi morì insieme alla borghesia". Il Tempo (re-edited by Milano Post).
  32. ^ Veneziani, Marcello (23 November 2014). "Quando il solista Longanesi sognava il duetto con Lauro". il Giornale.
  33. ISBN 9788815095541
    .
  34. ISBN 9788873818496
    .
  35. ISBN 9788830413924
    .
  36. ^ Benedetti, Arrigo (28 September 1957). "L'uomo della fronda". La Stampa.
  37. ^ Montanelli, Indro (September 1987). "Un epitaffio per Leo". Corriere della Sera.
  38. ^ Spadolini, Giovanni (16 December 1984). "Leo contro tutti". La Stampa.

Sources

  • "Longanési, Leo". Treccani.it (in Italian). Enciclopedia on line,
    Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
    .
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leo_Longanesi&oldid=1219125177"