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''L'Asino'' (English: "The Donkey") was an Italian magazine of political satire founded in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
in 1892, by Guido Podrecca (1865–1923) and Gabriele Galantara (1867–1937), a former mathematics student, designer and cartoonist, both with a socialist background. The two took the pseudonyms "Goliardo" (Podrecca) and "Ratalanga" (Galantara), and with these nicknames signed the outputs of the weekly. The magazine's title was from a saying of
Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi (12 August 1804 – 25 September 1873) was an Italian writer and politician involved in the Italian Risorgimento. Biography Guerrazzi was born in the seaport of Livorno, then part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. He s ...
that said that "the donkey is like the people: useful, patient and stubborn" (Italian: ''come il popolo è l'asino: utile, paziente e bastonato''), which became the subtitle and the motto of the editors.Galantara, Gabriele
Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 51 (1998)
L’Asino e Mussolini. Il ventennio del circo
by Emanuela Morganti, Circo, November 2011
Lernout
''Help My Unbelief''
p. 80.


Early years

In 1892, Podrecca and Galantara accepted a proposal of the Socialist publisher Luigi Mongini and founded a political satire weekly, ''L'Asino''. The first issue appeared on 27 November 1892. Directed by Podrecca, the periodical gave voice to the demands of the socialist movement and also published informative and ideological articles. It was an immediate success and already by the beginning of 1893, when it began to be printed in colour, it was circulating around 22,000 copies, which rose to 60,000 in 1904 and 100,000 in 1907.Goldstein
''The War for the Public Mind''
pp. 113-14.
Podrecca, Luigi Guido
Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 84 (2015)
''L'Asino'' was inspired by the great tradition of European political satire from France ('' La Caricature'', '' Le Charivari'', '' Le Rire'' and in particular '' L'Assiette au Beurre'' to which Galatanra contributed his cartoons) and especially from Germany, with the socialist fortnightly '' Der Wahre Jacob'', to which Podrecca and Galantara drew direct inspiration: double colour covers, texts enriched with drawings and engravings, satire articles alternating with rigorous social criticism.Gabriele Galantara e la satira politica
by Alberto Pellegrino, Centro Studi Gabriele Galantara
The magazine immediately focused its attention on the collapse of the Banca Romana in 1893 and Prime Minister
Giovanni Giolitti Giovanni Giolitti (; 27 October 1842 – 17 July 1928) was an Italian statesman. He was the prime minister of Italy five times between 1892 and 1921. He is the longest-serving democratically elected prime minister in Italian history, and the sec ...
. The success of the magazine led its two founders to embark on a daily publication in January 1895, but the experiment was unsuccessful and from August of the same year it reverted to a weekly publication. In 1897, Podrecca and Galantara were arrested for subversive propaganda and ''L'Asino'' had to suspend publication for a short period.


Anticlericalism

After 1901, the magazine began to criticize the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and became the leading
anticlerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historically, anti-clericalism in Christian traditions has been opposed to the influence of Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, ...
journal, as a reaction to the anti-liberal campaign by the Vatican against a divorce bill introduced in 1902 and the attempts to set up Catholic trade unions in opposition to the socialist ones. ''L'Asino'' launched a virulent offensive against the clergy in terms of customs, morals and religious sentiment, "portraying the image of the lustful, jealous, greedy, corrupt and corrupting priest .. With an incessant hammering of cartoons, caricatures, satires, denunciations, easy and often superficial popular articles, Galantara and Podrecca succeeded in widely spreading this image in vast sectors of the popular masses". As a result, the magazine was banned from
Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...
. The magazine circulated widely among Italian immigrants in the United States. Due to its anticlerical and alleged pornographic content, the papal
nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...
in Washington D.C. succeeded to get it banned from entry in 1908. However, the ban was circumvented by printing an American edition in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.Danky & Wiegand
''Print Culture in a Diverse America''
pp. 24-5.
As a counterbalance to ''L'Asino'', the Catholic and anti-socialist-inspired satirical magazine ''Il Mulo'' (The Mule) was launched in 1907 by Cesare Algranati (editor of ''L'Avvenire d'Italia'').


Rift between the founders

In 1911, the war in Libya caused a serious rift between Podrecca, who had been elected deputy for the
Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Social democracy, social democratic and Democratic socialism, democratic socialist political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parti ...
in 1909, and supported Leonida Bissolati, who was in favour of the war, while Galantara resolutely opposed in the name of anti-militarist and internationalist principles. ''L'Asino'' floundered, giving space to both positions, but the cartoons of Galantara against the war were more effective than the articles of Podrecca in favour of it. At the outbreak of the
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
there was a momentary rapprochement between the two, when both in the name of sympathy for France sided with the interventionists promoting the entry of Italy in the war devoting many satirical cartoons sneering the enemy's Germany and Austria-Hungary. However, the magazine lost its bite with its nationalist stance.Tholas-Disset & Ritzenhoff
''Humor, Entertainment, and Popular Culture During World War I''
p. 49
Galantara contributed to the interventionist cause and war propaganda with his famous caricatures of 'Guglielmone' (
Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...
of Germany) and 'Cecco Beppe' (
Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...
) and by preaching hostility to 'Teutonic barbarism'. His cartoons were republished in other newspapers in the Entente countries and were exhibited as "Italian Artists and the War" in July 1916 at the
Leicester Galleries Leicester Galleries was an art gallery located in London from 1902 to 1977 that held exhibitions of modern British, French and international artists' works. Its name was acquired in 1984 by Peter Nahum, who operates "Peter Nahum at the Leiceste ...
in London. Not only because of its interventionist choice, but also because of the stance it took towards the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
(
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
and the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
were portrayed as German agents), ''L'Asino'' deviated from the sentiments of many socialists and lost readership.


Cessation and revival

Publication was interrupted from 1918 to 1921, due to technical and economic difficulties, such as lack of paper. Podrecca broke all ties with his socialist past, moving closer to
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
and becoming a correspondent for '' Il Popolo d'Italia''. During the war he had shifted to more extreme nationalist positions that led him to interrupt his collaboration with ''L'Asino'' and, after the end of the conflict, to be among the first adherents of
Fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
. In the November
1919 Italian general election General elections were held in Italy on 16 November 1919.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1047 The fragmented Liberal governing coalition lost the absolute majority in the Chamber of Deputies, due ...
, Podrecca was among the candidates on the list presented by the Fascists in Milan, which was headed by Mussolini and included, among others,
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (; 22 December 1876 – 2 December 1944) was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye de ...
and
Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...
. Galantara, on the other hand, had returned to his initial socialist principles and resumed the magazine in December 1921. The new series of the weekly, which was printed in Milan at the ''
Avanti! ''Avanti!'' (; Italian interjection – 'come in!') is a 1972 comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet Mills. The screenplay by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond is based on Samuel A. Taylor's pla ...
'' printing house, began with a public act of penitence and a ruthless self-criticism that saved nothing of the choices made over the last twenty years, from 'democratic deceptions' to 'patriotic lies' to 'anticlerical pornography', promising a revitalising return to the rebellious spirit of the origins.


Demise

The publication opposed Mussolini's Fascist dictatorship and was forced to suspend publication in the spring of 1925 due to a new law restricting press freedom and after a long series of threats, harassment and interventions of fascist gangs in the newsroom. For the cover of the final issue of ''L'Asino'', Galantara made a caricature of Mussolini, entitled ''Lui'' (Him) that would become a role model of foreign designers worldwide. Mussolini appeared with a huge bald head and surmounted by a crown on which is written "trouble to anyone who touches me", a huge mouth and two big eyes wide and crossed by a light of madness. After the closure of ''L'Asino'', Galantara continued to create cartoons for the antifascist satirical newspaper '' Il Becco Giallo'', but on 24 December 1926 he was arrested and taken to Rome's Regina Coeli prison and sentenced to five years of confinement. In early 1927, the sentence was commuted to probation, but he remained barred from any journalistic activity.


Trivia

* The Irish novelist
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...
was an avid reader of ''L'Asino'' when he resided in Rome.


''L'Asino'' covers

File:Gabriele Galantara, Il congresso socialista di Bologna, copertina de l'Asino del 10 aprile 1904.jpg, Cover of 10 April 1904. The Socialist congress in Bologna. A pious wish of the local suckers: to devalue the country while its defenders beat themselves up. File:Alfabeto e clericalismo - Ecco perche i preti strillano contro la scuoa laica l 'alfabeto uccide il clericalismo.JPG, Cover of 17 March 1907. This is why priests shout against the secular school: the alphabet kills clericalism. File:Giolitti-cartoon-Asino.jpg, This cover of 14 May 1911, describes the policy of Giolitti: on the one hand, dressed in elegant suit, he reassures conservatives; on the other, with less elegant clothes, he is addressing the workers. File:Gabriele Galantara, Gli estremi si toccano, copertina de l'Asino del 30 gennaio 1921.jpg, Cover of 30 January 1921 about the XVII Congress of the Italian Socialist Party. The upper part of the cartoon reads: "Lenin: I have finally won! The Italian Socialist Party split..."; the lower part: "Giolitti: The greatest success of my policy! The Italian Socialist Party split...".


See also

*
List of magazines in Italy In Italy there are many magazines. In the late 1920s there were nearly one hundred literary magazines. Following the end of World War II the number of weekly magazines significantly expanded. From 1970 feminist magazines began to increase in numbe ...


References


Bibliography

* Danky, James Philip & Wiegand Wayne A. (eds.) (1998).
Print Culture in a Diverse America
', Champaign (IL): University of Illinois Press. . * Goldstein, Robert Justin (ed.) (2000).
The War for the Public Mind: Political Censorship in Nineteenth-century Europe
', Westport (CT): Praeger Publishers. . * Lernout, Geert (2010).
Help My Unbelief: James Joyce and Religion
', London/New York: Continuum. . * Tholas-Disset, Clémentine & Ritzenhoff, Karen A. (eds.) (2015).
Humor, Entertainment, and Popular Culture During World War I
', New York: Palgrave Macmillan. .


Further reading

* Mascha, Efharis.
Political Satire and Hegemony: A Case of 'Passive Revolution' During Mussolini's Ascendance to Power 1919–1925
'. Humor (Berlin, Germany) 21, no. 1 (2008): 69–98.


External links

*
L'Asino e il popolo: utile, paziente e bastonato
Premio Satira Politica (1982) *

Centro Studi Gabriele Galantara {{DEFAULTSORT:Asino, L' 1892 establishments in Italy 1925 disestablishments in Italy Defunct political magazines published in Italy Defunct Italian-language magazines Magazines established in 1892 Magazines disestablished in 1925 Magazines published in Rome Satirical magazines published in Italy Weekly magazines published in Italy