''Leonardo'' was a philosophy magazine published in the early twentieth century 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, between 1903 and 1907. It was one of the publications started by

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 ...

and contributed by

Giuseppe Prezzolini Giuseppe Prezzolini (27 January 1882 – 16 July 1982) was an Italian literary critic, journalist, editor and writer. He later became an American citizen. Biography Prezzolini was born in Perugia in January 1882, to Tuscan parents from Siena, Luig ...

. The magazine is also one of the periodicals which contributed to the cultural basis of the early forms of

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

History and profile

''Leonardo'' was started in Florence in January 1903. One of its founders was Giovanni Papini who also edited the magazine. It came out irregularly. Significant contributors included Giuseppe Prezzolini, Mario Calderoni,

Giuseppe Antonio Borgese Giuseppe Antonio Borgese (12 November 1882 – 4 December 1952) was an Italian writer, journalist, literary critic, Germanist, poet, playwright and academic naturalized American. Biography During the academic year 1899-1900, under pressure from ...

, Emilio Cecchi and

Giovanni Amendola Giovanni Amendola (15 April 1882 – 7 April 1926) was an Italian journalist, professor and politician, noted as an opponent of Italian Fascism. Biography Early life and education Amendola was born in Naples on 15 April 1882. He moved to Rome, ...

who also financed the magazine which featured articles on philosophical reviews and also, on literature and arts. The front page of the first issue contained a synthetic program which indicated the stance of the contributors, namely

personalism Personalism is an intellectual stance that emphasizes the importance of human persons. Personalism exists in many different versions, and this makes it somewhat difficult to define as a philosophical and theological movement. Friedrich Schleierm ...

and

idealism In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to ide ...

. They regarded themselves as being superior to any system and to every limit. In addition, the magazine frequently covered articles attacking

positivism Positivism is an empiricist philosophical theory that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positive—meaning ''a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. G ...

, particularly during the early years. Official philosophical stance of the magazine appeared to be

pragmatism Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. ...

at the end of the first year of existence. ''Leonardo'' was closed by Giovanni Papini and Giuseppe Prezzolini in 1907 due to the fact that it was becoming a commercial and mainstream publication because of its popularity and success.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonardo 1903 establishments in Italy 1907 disestablishments in Italy Defunct literary magazines published in Italy Irregularly published magazines Italian-language magazines Magazines established in 1903 Magazines disestablished in 1907 Magazines published in Florence Philosophy magazines Pragmatism