''Il Frontespizio'' (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''The Frontispiece'') was an Italian art and

literary magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letter ...

, which had a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

perspective. The magazine existed between 1929 and 1940 and was based in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, Italy.

History and profile

''Il Frontespizio'' was first published in May 1929. The founders were Enrico Lucatello and Piero Bargellini.

Giovanni Papini Giovanni Papini (9 January 18818 July 1956) was an Italian journalist, essayist, novelist, short story writer, poet, literary critic, and Italian philosophy, philosopher. A controversial literary figure of the early and mid-twentieth century, he ...

was also instrumental in the establishment of the magazine. The headquarters of ''Il Frontespizio'' was in Florence. From August 1929 the magazine became monthly, but it rarely published double issues. Vallecchi was the publisher of the magazine from July 1930 to its closure in 1940. The founding editor was Enrico Lucatello, who was succeeded by Piero Bargellini in the post. Giuseppe de Luca, a Catholic

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, was among the regular contributors and served as the editor of ''Il Frontespizio''. Although it targeted Catholic

intellectuals An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, ...

, who had been alienated from public life since the

Unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century Political movement, political and social movement that resulted in the Merger (politics), consolidation of List of historic stat ...

in 1861, the goal of the magazine was not to disseminate

Catholic art Catholic art is art produced by or for members of the Catholic Church. This includes visual art (iconography), sculpture, decorative arts, applied arts, and architecture. In a broader sense, Catholic music and other art may be included as well. E ...

. Instead, it aimed at being an alternative to avant-gardism and fascist culture in Italy. In addition, ''Il Frontespizio'' adopted an

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

approach. The magazine introduced the

Hermetic Hermetic or related forms may refer to: * of or related to the ancient Greek Olympian god Hermes * of or related to Hermes Trismegistus, a legendary Hellenistic figure based on the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth ** , the ancient and m ...

poetry in Italy through the work by

Carlo Bo Carlo Bo (25 January 1911 – 21 July 2001) was an Italian poet, literary critic, distinghuished humanist, a professor and Life senator of Italy (from 1984). Biography Bo was born on January 25, 1911, in Sestri Levante, Italy. From 1929 to ...

, a

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

Mario Luzi Mario Luzi (20 October 1914 – 28 February 2005) was an Italian poet. Biography Born in Castello, near Sesto Fiorentino, Luzi's parents, Ciro Luzi and Margherita Papini, hailed from Samprugnano (later Semproniano). He spent his youth in Castel ...

and Piero Bigongiari. The magazine also covered the work by Italian sculptors, including Bartolini,

Carlo Carrà Carlo Carrà (; February 11, 1881 – April 13, 1966) was an Italian painter and a leading figure of the Futurist movement that flourished in Italy during the beginning of the 20th century. In addition to his many paintings, he wrote a number ...

Felice Casorati Felice Casorati (December 4, 1883 – March 1, 1963) was an Italian painter, sculptor, and printmaker. The paintings for which he is most noted include figure compositions, portraits and still lifes, which are often distinguished by unusua ...

, De Pisis, Mino Maccari, Manzu,

Giorgio Morandi Giorgio Morandi (July 20, 1890 – June 18, 1964) was an Italian painter and printmaker who specialized in still life. His paintings are noted for their tonal subtlety in depicting simple subjects, which were limited mainly to vases, bottles, b ...

Ottone Rosai Ottone Rosai (28 April 1895 – 13 May 1957) was an Italian painter born in Florence. Biography Rosai graduated from the Florence Academy of Fine Arts in 1912, a period in which he was closely associated with the Lacerba group of Florentine Futur ...

, Semeghini, Severini, Soffici, and Lorenzo Viani. ''Il Frontespizio'' was the recipient of the best

graphic Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture, ...

work award at the

Milan Triennale The ''Milan Triennial'' (Triennale di Milano) is an art and design exhibition that takes place every three years at the Triennale di Milano Museum in Milan, Italy. History The exhibition was originally established in 1923 as a biennial architect ...

in 1935. The magazine ended publication in December 1940.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frontespizio 1929 establishments in Italy 1940 disestablishments in Italy Antisemitism in Italy Antisemitic publications Catholic magazines published in Italy Defunct literary magazines published in Italy Fascist newspapers and magazines Italian-language magazines Magazines established in 1929 Magazines disestablished in 1940 Magazines published in Florence Monthly magazines published in Italy Poetry literary magazines Visual arts magazines