Motorsport and Fascism: Living Dangerously (Global Culture and Sport Series)

This book is the first English-language study of motorsport and Italian Fascism, arguing that a synergy existed between motor racing and Fascism that did not exist with other sports. Motorsport was able to bring together the two dominant, and often opposed, cultural roots of Fascism, the Futurism of F. T. Marinetti, and the Decadence associated with Gabriele D'Annunzio. The book traces this cultural convergence through a topical study of motorsport in the 1920s and 1930s placing it in the context of the history of sport under Mussolini's regime. Chapters discuss the centrality of speed and death in Fascist culture, the attempt to transform Rome into a motorsport capital, the architectural and ideological function of the Monza and Tripoli and autodromes, and two chapters on the importance of the Mille Miglia, a genuine Fascist artefact that became one of the most legendary motor races of all time. Paul Baxa is Associate Professor of History at Ave Maria University in Florida, USA. His previous publications include Roads and Ruins: The Symbolic Landscape of Fascist Rome (University of Toronto Press, 2010) Preface and Acknowledgments Contents About the Author Contents 1: Introduction Summer of 1924: Triumph in Lyon, Tragedy in Rome Fascism, Sport, and Motorsport Why Motorsport? The Fascist Sport par Excellence: Chapter Summaries Living Dangerously 2: Speed & Death Death on a Sunday Afternoon “More Beautiful Than the Victory at Samothrace”: Futurism, Decadentism, and Motorsport The “Snarling Beast”: From FIAT to Alfa Romeo The Race Car Driver as Hero and Martyr Nuvolari or Varzi? The D’Annunzian or the Marinettian? Conclusion 3: Autodromes The New Autodrome The Iron City Machines in the Garden Italian Motorsport’s National Stadium Grand Prix Racing’s Place of Rebirth The Race for Millions 4: Fascist Rome: Motorsport Capital Gallenga Stuart’s Dream The Reale Premio di Roma The Monte Mario Circuit (1925) The Valle Giulia Circuit (1926) The Parioli Circuit (1927) The Tre Fontane Circuit (1928–1930) Autodromo del Littorio (1931–1932) Conclusion: A Failed Vision 5: The Mille Miglia: Going Toward the People A New Beginning A Return to Origins The Anti-Giro The Mille Miglia and the Cult of Speed The Mille Miglia and the New Man “The Era of the Mille Miglia is Over”: The 1938 Tragedy 6: The Invisible Race The Mille Miglia: A Romance Mapping the Race: 1927, 1934, and 1938 A New Sense of Place Three Heterotopic Sites: Piazza della Vittoria, Ponte Littorio, and Piazzale Milvio The Mille Miglia and Place Making The “Lost Aura”: The 1940 Mille Miglia Conclusion 7: Conclusion The “New” Mille Miglia Grand Prix Racing and Authoritarianism: A Not So Secret History Return to Rome Bibliography Archives Newspapers and Periodicals Guide Books Contemporary Books and Sources Secondary Sources Books and Articles Film Sources Web Sources Index