Armenian Art and Culture from the Pages of the Historia Imperii Mediterranei
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Venezia Arti ISSN [ebook] 2385-2720 Vol. 27 – Num. 27 – Dicembre 2018 ISSN [print] 0394-4298 Armenian Art and Culture from the Pages of the Historia Imperii Mediterranei Stefano Riccioni (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia) Abstract The article studies the editorial series called “Historia Imperii Mediterranei” (HIM) that was directed by Lauro Mainardi, an official of the National Fascist Party, in cooperation with the Armenian Committee of Italy. Between 1939 and 1941, the HIM published a series of booklets entitled Armenia that contained not only articles on Armenia but also “essays on Oriental culture”. According to Mainardi, the HIM had a wide cultural interest in art and architecture but also in literature, poetry, philosophy, and politics. The series published two significant essays: the article by Josef Strzygowski, where he innovatively affirmed the role of the East in Christian art and where he employed “Aryan” racial theory; and Giuseppe Frasson’s article, which shows that Strzygowski was recognised as an innovator but, at the same time, that Byzantine studies in Italy were confined to the nationalistic purpose of affirming ‘Italian’ elements in Roman art. In conclusion, the HIM illustrates the political and cultural strategy of the Fascist party with respect to the Caucasian question in addition to its support of the strategy of the Armenian Committee of Italy for protecting Armenians in Italy before the Second World War. Summary 1 The Article of Josef Strzygowski. – 2 Aryan Architecture and Italian Nationalism. – 3 The Sixth Volume: Armenian Art. – 4 conclusion. Keywords Historia Imperii Mediterranei (HIM). Armenian architecture. Armenian art. Armenian culture. Italian Fascist culture. Italian artistic historiography. Lauro Mainardi. Josef Strzygowski. Giuseppe Frasson. There is a lacuna in Italian historiography about joint Italian-Armenian publishing venture was Armenian Art. It lacks any specific study, not even launched to make Armenian culture more vis- a short mention, of the Historia Imperii Mediterra- ible in Italy. Lauro Mainardi, an official of the nei (hereafter called HIM), an editorial series di- National Fascist Party, director of the Archivio rected by Lauro Mainardi and published in Rome storico dei movimenti separatisti, irredentisti e between 1939 and 1941.1 These essays are indeed revisionisti (Historical archive of separatist, ir- mostly unknown to critics, although they are sig- redentist and revisionist movements), promoted nificant for Italian cultural history. To understand this venture. He was in charge of seeking and the reasons for this silence, it is necessary to take creating alliances with the Caucasian minori- a few steps back in the history of Italy. ties who were still interested in reoccupying the In 1915, the Comitato Armeno d’Italia (Armeni- territories that had fell to the Soviet regime (73- an Committee of Italy) was founded in Milan by 6). Mainardi, in agreement with the Comitato, former students of the Moorat Raphaël college in proposed to make the problems of Armenia and Venice who lived in Milan and Turin, and some the Caucasus known to the wider public, in or- Armenian traders who worked in the Milan area der “to remove some misunderstandings of the (Manoukian 2014). This was the first association Armenian people, spread by malicious people, of the current Unione Armeni d’Italia (Union of so that the Armenians, better known and more Armenians of Italy), founded with the purpose appreciated by this work of propaganda, can be to protect the right of Armenians residing and accepted and received with increasing benev- working in Italy. The Italian government official- olence from the Italian public opinion” (letter ly recognized the Comitato in a letter written quoted by Manoukian 2014, 77). by Achille Grandi, the Under Secretary of State Mainardi’s interest is part of Italian foreign for Foreign Affairs, dated 5 December 1927 policy initiatives towards the Caucasian region (Manoukian 2014, 73-5). In 1938, because of the (Mamulia 2007; Manoukian 2014, 77) which, rapprochement to the National Fascist Party, a from the end of the First World War, as a re- 1 I am grateful to Lévon Boghos Zékiyan for several generous discussions that inspired my interest in Armenian art. DOI 10.30687/VA/2385-2720/2018/27/007 Submission 2018-11-22 | © 2018 | Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution alone 119 e-ISSN 2385-2720 Venezia Arti, 27, 2018, 119-130 ISSN 0394-4298 Figure 1. G. Cartella Gelardi. Per la grande vittima: l’Armenia!. Roma: HIM, 1940. Back cover. Photo by the Author Figure 2. Armenia. L’Armenia per la sua storia, la sua cultura, la sua posizione geografica, è il ponte naturale tra l’Occidente e l’Oriente. Roma: HIM, 1, 1939. Cover. Photo by the Author Figure 3. L. Mainardi. Erivan contro Mosca. Roma: HIM, 1941. Book. Photo by the Author sult of its anti-Soviet perspective and desire to different races, fought to defend civilization and recover the Anatolian region, showed varying Aryanism”. Armenia is also considered to be “the attitudes toward the Turkish government, from one nation that can spread Romanity in the East”.2 its support to its total exclusion (Penati 2008). Above all, according to Mainardi, Armenia’s per- For a better understanding of HIM’s birth in spective was similar to the Italian one: it was the historical context, we must remember that waiting for the Fascism to win, because Fascism’s the Armenians, after the race laws were enacted complete triumph represented the only opportuni- (Law no. 1728, 17 November 1938), remembering ty to resolve its sad situation. Indeed, just like Ita- their persecutions, tried to be part of the domi- ly, Armenia was ‘deceived’ by the promises of the nant culture in order to escape new misfortunes hegemonic empires [of England and France]” and, (Manoukian 2014, 76). “just like Italy after the First World War it was Lauro Mainardi played a part in this strate- betrayed”. 3 Then, Mainardi refers to the Sèvres gy. According to his words: “Armenia is a pure- Treaty (1920), which recognized Armenia’s Inde- ly-Aryan nation, which, surrounded by people of pendence. However, because of the Turkish War 2 “È l’Armenia una purissima Nazione Ariana che, circondata da popoli di razza diversi, ha lottato per millenni per la difesa della civiltà e dell’Arianesimo. Di essa si può dire che è stata, ed è al presente, anche nelle sue strazianti condizioni attuali, la vera propagatrice della Romanità nel prossimo Oriente” (Mainardi 1941, 9). 3 “Ingannata, come l’Italia dalle promesse degli imperi egemonici, come l’Italia determinata a condurre una lotta decisiva e all’ultimo sangue con chi ostacolava le sue legittime aspirazioni irrendentistiche, l’Armenia scese a fianco dell’Intesa, lottò con valore leggendario, subì sacrifici enormi e cruentissimi e fu poi, come il nostro Paese, tradita da coloro stessi che avevano sfruttato al massimo grado il suo eroismo e i suoi indicibili martiri” (Mainardi 1941, 9-10). 120 Riccioni. Armenian Art and Culture from the Pages of the Historia Imperii Mediterranei e-ISSN 2385-2720 Venezia Arti, 27, 2018, 119-130 ISSN 0394-4298 of Independence, the Treaty of Lausanne replaced Armenians established that each publication the Treaty of Sèvres on 24 July 1923. should be sent from Rome to all addresses in- Between 1938 and 1940, the Comitato fi- dicated by the Comitato. Mainardi selected and nanced the publication of a number of essays sent the publications to political and cultural au- that differed in importance and quality. Indeed, thorities, including the Pope, the King, the Duce the acronym of the publisher, HIM, has two pos- and also Galeazzo Ciano (Manoukian 2014, 87). sible meanings: it is the name of the Comitato This strategy proved very useful after the war expressed in Armenian; in Latin, it alludes to the started. On 29 August 1939, shortly before the history of the Mediterranean empire. Germans invaded Poland, President Arzumani- Mainardi’s aim, in accordance with the Arme- an and Secretary Sarian, on behalf of the Com- nian community, was to demonstrate how friend- itato, wrote to Mainardi. They requested that ly and similar to Italians Armenians were. The “the Armenian citizens of other countries (such editorial series “aim[ed] to promote knowledge as France, Turkey, etc....) be recognized, first of of the peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean and all, as Armenians (whose spiritual loyalty to the to study their relations with ancient and modern cause of Fascism cannot be questioned)” (93). Italy, in order to renew old bonds, to strengthen Thus, Mainardi became an essential connection present ones, and to create new ones”,4 as stated to Rome’s authority and power to extend protec- in the back cover of each booklet (fig. 1). tion to the Armenian people. In 1940, when Italy The agreements between Mainardi and the declared war on France, many Armenians who 4 “Si propone di promuovere la conoscenza dei Popoli del Mediterraneo Orientale e lo studio delle relazioni di essi con l’Italia Antica e Moderna al fine di rinnovare i vecchi legami, di potenziare gli attuali, di crearne dei nuovi”. Riccioni. Armenian Art and Culture from the Pages of the Historia Imperii Mediterranei 121 e-ISSN 2385-2720 Venezia Arti, 27, 2018, 119-130 ISSN 0394-4298 resided in Italy and possessed a French passport Historical-literary essays were classified as enemies, subjected to trade restrictions, and even imprisoned. Only the in- “Armenia” 6, L’arte armena, 1939 tervention of the Comitato and its policy adopted “Armenia” 7, Il volto eroico dell’Armenia. Intro- to show friendship between Italy and Armenia duzione di Lauro Mainardi, 1939 succeeded in revoking the measures and per- “Armenia” 8, Urfa e l’eroismo armeno, 1940 suaded Mussolini to promulgate a decree that “Armenia” 9, [Karniguian, Tacvor], La dottrina freed Armenians from the restrictions (95-100).