The Codex Fori Mussolini: A Latin Text of Italian Fascism (Bloomsbury Studies in Classical Reception)

The Year Is 1932. In Rome, The Fascist Leader Benito Mussolini Unveils A Giant Obelisk Of White Marble, Bearing The Latin Inscription Mvssolini Dvx. Invisible To The Cheering Crowds, A Metal Box Lies Immured In The Obelisk's Base. It Contains A Few Gold Coins And, Written On A Piece Of Parchment, A Latin Text: The Codex Fori Mussolini. What Does This Text Say? Why Was It Buried There? And Why Was It Written In Latin? The Codex, Composed By The Classical Scholar Aurelio Giuseppe Amatucci (1867-1960), Presents A Carefully Constructed Account Of The Rise Of Italian Fascism And Its Leader, Benito Mussolini. Though Written In The Language Of Roman Antiquity, The Codex Was Supposed To Reach Audiences In The Distant Future. Placed Under The Obelisk With Future Excavation And Rediscovery In Mind, The Latin Text Was An Attempt At Directing The Future Reception Of Italian Fascism. This Book Renders The Codex Accessible To Scholars And Students Of Different Disciplines, Offering A Thorough And Wide-ranging Introduction, A Clear Translation, And A Commentary Elucidating The Text's Rhetorical Strategies, Historical Background, And Specifics Of Phrasing And Reference. As The First Detailed Study Of A Fascist Latin Text, It Also Throws New Light On The Important Role Of The Latin Language In Italian Fascist Culture. The Codex Fori Mussolini In Context -- Introduction -- Structure And Content -- Editions -- The Author Of The Codex Fori Mussolini -- The Codex And The Use Of Latin Under Fascism -- The Codex And The Foro Mussolini -- The Codex Under The Obelisk -- The Codex As A Foundation Deposit -- Latin Text And Translation -- List Of Textual Variants -- Commentary -- Timeline. Edited With Introduction, Commentary And Translation, Han Lamers And Bettina Reitz-joosse. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The year is 1932. In Rome, the Fascist leader Benito Mussolini unveils a giant obelisk of white marble, bearing the Latin inscription MVSSOLINI DVX. Invisible to the cheering crowds, a metal box lies immured in the obelisk's base. It contains a few gold coins and, written on a piece of parchment, a Latin text: the Codex Fori Mussolini. What does this text say? Why was it buried there? And why was it written in Latin? The Codex, composed by the classical scholar Aurelio Giuseppe Amatucci (1867-1960), presents a carefully constructed account of the rise of Italian Fascism and its leader, Benito Mussolini. Though written in the language of Roman antiquity, the Codex was supposed to reach audiences in the distant future. Placed under the obelisk with future excavation and rediscovery in mind, the Latin text was an attempt at directing the future reception of Italian Fascism. This book renders the Codex accessible to scholars and students of different disciplines, offering a thorough and wide-ranging introduction, a clear translation, and a commentary elucidating the text's rhetorical strategies, historical background, and specifics of phrasing and reference. As the first detailed study of a Fascist Latin text, it also throws new light on the important role of the Latin language in Italian Fascist culture.--Publisher description Cover page 1 Halftitle page 2 Series page 3 Title page 4 Copyright page 5 Contents 6 List of Illustrations 7 List of Abbreviations and Notations 9 Acknowledgements 10 The Codex Fori Mussolini in Context 12 1. Introduction 12 2. Structure and content 17 3. Editions 19 4. The author of the Codex Fori Mussolini 21 5. The Codex and the use of Latin under Fascism 27 6. The Codex and the Foro Mussolini 39 7. The Codex under the obelisk 59 8. The Codex as a foundation deposit 73 Latin Text and Translation 94 Codex Fori Mussolini 95 The Codex of the Foro Mussolini 96 List of Textual Variants 108 Commentary 110 Timeline of the ventennio fascista 134 Bibliography 136 Index 148