Occult Imperium: Arturo Reghini, Roman Traditionalism, and the Anti-Modern Reaction in Fascist Italy (Oxford Studies in Western Esotericism)

Christian Giudice's Occult Imperium explores Italian national forms of Occultism, chiefly analyzing Arturo Reghini (1878-1946), his copious writings, and Roman Traditionalism. Trained as a mathematician at the prestigious University of Pisa, Reghini was one of the three giants of occult and esoteric thought in Italy, alongside his colleagues Julius Evola (1898-1974) and Giulian Kremmerz (1861-1930). Using Reghini's articles, books, and letters, as a guide, Giudice explores the interaction between occultism, Traditionalism, and different facets of modernity in early-twentieth-century Italy. The book takes into consideration many factors particular to the Italian peninsula: the ties with avant-garde movements such as the Florentine Scapigliatura and Futurism, the occult vogues typical to Italy, the rise to power of Benito Mussolini and Fascism, and, lastly, the power of the Holy See over different expressions of spirituality. Occult Imperium explores the convergence of new forms of spirituality in early twentieth-century Italy. Table of Contents Chapter 1: The Anti-Modern Side of Modernity Chapter 2: Risorgimento Italy: Occultism, Politics, the Rise of the Nation State, and Roman Traditionalism Chapter 3: The Early Years (1898-1910): Avantgarde, Theosophy, and Anti-Modernism Chapter 4: The Schola Italica and the Rito Filosofico Italiano (1910-1914): Initiation and Invention of Tradition in Modern Italy Chapter 5: The Great War and 'Pagan Imperialism' (1915-1920): A Clash Between the Modern and the Traditional Chapter 6: Fascism and Traditionalism: Modernity and Anti-Modernity (1920-1925) Chapter 7: The UR Group and the End of a Dream (1923-1929) Chapter 8: Silentium Post Clamores (1930-1946) Chapter 9: Concluding Remarks Appendix: 'Imperialismo Pagano': English Translation Bibliography Index "This book examines the life and works of Italian mathematician and occultist Arturo Reghini (1878-1946): through a careful analysis of his writings, a theory arguing the existence of a conservative, anti-modern form of occultism is put forth. Such theory represents an attempt to counter-balance the many ideas of occultism as exclusively progressive in nature put forth by previous scholars, namely Alex Owen, Marco Pasi and Corinna Treitel. The work analyses the intersection between modernity, occultism and Traditionalism in a key period of Italian history, which includes World War One, the twenty years of Fascist rule and World War Two. Occultism and Traditionalism are also analysed through the lens of their interaction with reactionary, extreme right-wing politics, with the avant-garde movements of the day, such as Futurism, and through a careful scrutiny of Reghini's correspondence, some hitherto unpublished, with other giants of occultism of the day, such as René Guénon (1886-1951) and Amedeo Armentano (1886-1966)"-- Provided by publisher