Storia dello Sport. Rivista di Studi Contemporanei

La Scuola universitaria di educazione fisica di Bologna

Daphné Bolz, Angela Teja — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

As part of the social revolution desired by fascism, physical activity played
a central role. This article aims to examine the case of the School of Physical Education
at the University of Bologna, conceived in the context of the reform of physical education
teacher training linked to the foundation of the Ente Nazionale di Educazione Fisica
(ENEF) in 1923. Directed by Donato Ottolenghi (1874-1942), this School was however
very short-lived between 1925 and 1927 and had to adapt its academic profile several
times. Archival material preserved in Bologna and Rome and printed sources make it
possible to clarify the history of this institution that was initially desired by fascism but
was established without a future. The ambition of the Bolognese hierarchs was in fact
overtaken by other national concerns of the regime, revealing conflicts and contradictions
in the construction of a general scheme for physical education and sport in Fascist Italy.

Calcio e identità

Edoardo Molinelli — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The phenomenon of the Italianisation of anthroponyms and place names within the territories acquired by the Kingdom of Italy at the end of the First World War is a topic that has enjoyed increasing attention in more recent historiography. Less investigated, however, have been the consequences of this process on the lives and careers of the athletes from these areas, and especially the Istrian footballers of Slavic or Germanic origin who were great protagonists in the Serie A of the Ventennio. While some agreed to Italianise their surnames, others decided to keep their original form and had to face the consequences of their choice. Among them were Rodolfo Ostroman and Bruno Scher, on whose sporting events this contribution focuses.

Bologna come epicentro e laboratorio dello sport fascista

Pierfrancesco Trocchi — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In a broader perspective of understanding the fascist sport, the article aims to analyse its dynamics in the context of the city of Bologna during the Ventennio. We will see how Bologna tried to establish itself as the Italian “Capital of sport”, thanks mainly to the reorganizational and creative efforts of the hierarch Leandro Arpinati. In order to do this, we will look at articles published in «Il Comune di Bologna» (1924-1939), the Municipal magazine of the city. The analysis of Bolognese events will show how the sporting fortunes of the city were closely linked to the political fortunes of Arpinati, who implemented and maximized the dynamics of national sport in Emilia. In fact, he was able to both live by the spectacularization advocated by the Regime thanks to a monumental arena such as the "Littoriale" - with Bologna FC as its main mascot – as well as pursue the massifying aims of the dictatorship by constantly involving schools and local groups in educational physical activities. Finally, the creation of the Institute for Sports Medicine satisfied the Fascists’ desire to provide sport with a medical legitimacy according to “hygienist” doctrines. Lastly, it will be seen how the interest of the mayors of Bologna in sporting activities both diminished and changed after 1933, the year of Arpinati's fall from grace. The aim of this paper is to outline Fascism’s attempt to make Bologna not only "la Dotta" (“the Learned”) but also "la Sportiva", an attempt which only partially succeeded under Arpinati's influence.

“Benedetta gente, questi piemontesi!”

Onofrio Bellifemine — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Between 1930 and 1935 Juventus won five consecutive football championships becoming the most loved football team in Italy. The Italian press described Juventus in two ways: on the one hand with admiration for their efficiency and on the other in a polemical way for their game considered too unspectacular. The following essay analyzes the journalistic narrative of this period underlining the cultural connections of these readings. In fact, it was a very important moment for Italian football which became increasingly popular between the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s. In this period, the fascist institutions devoted ever greater attention to football and organized the World Cup which took place in Italy in 1934.

Correre in camicia nera. La fascistizzazione del ciclismo

Alberto Molinari — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This contribution aims to illustrate the ideologic, propaganda and sports political directions and motivations that led the Commands of the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale to strongly support the cycling activity of the soldiers at first, and to drastically reduce it shortly later, following the redefinition of the regime’s sporting arrangements caused by the “Carta dello sport”. In addition to outlining the strictly sporting aspects of MVSN’s activity in the cycling field, this contribution intends to provide some insights that can enrich the overall interpretation of the regime’s relationship with cycling. The analysis of the MVSN’s case allows us to highlight some dynamics of the fascistization of the cycling world, the role played by sport as a way for party officials to obtain visibility, distinction and political credit, and the meaning that the sporting dimension took on in the organizational structure and in the development of the Milizia’s fascist ideology.

La “Venere” fascista dimenticata

Angela Teja, Patrizia Veroli — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In Italy in the 1920s, rhythmic gymnastics and ‘classical’ dances complemented
each other in proposing dynamic female bodies that, within a socially subordinate gender
role, fulfilled the aesthetic and eugenic aims that the fascist regime prioritised for women.
When Luigi Moretti designed a theatre for ‘classical dances’ to be set up in the Foro Mussolini,
what role was to be assigned to female dances within a space that celebrated the
mystique of masculinity? Could Bernardo Morescalchi’s “Nudo di donna”, the only statue
of a woman in these predominantly male-dominated spaces, correspond to this desire by
highlighting an openness to feminine aesthetics and the memory of the classical world?
Through the study of the early spread of rhythmic gymnastics and ‘classical’ dances, Luigi
Moretti’s intervention in the original plan of the Forum by Enrico Del Debbio will be investigated.
Not least with the placement of a classically inspired female statue among the
other 93 all-male ones, probable evidence of an abstract and sublime vision of women, to
be admired to the full in their rhythmic, harmonious and dancing movements.

Uno stato dell’arte

Nicola Sbetti, Daniele Serapiglia — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Elvis Lucchese, Sport di combattimento. Gli esordi del rugby in Veneto 1927/1945 - Marco Ruzzi, Generazione Littoriali. Rugby e fascismo in Italia dal 1928 al 1945

Nicola Sbetti — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Daphné Bolz, Les arènes totalitaires. Hitler, Mussolini et les jeux du stade

Lorenzo Venuti — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Alessio PONZIO, La palestra del Littorio. L’Accademia della Farnesina: un esperimento di pedagogia totalitaria nell’Italia fascista

Domenico Francesco Antonio Elia — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Sergio Giuntini, Oltre la vittoria. L’antifascismo dello sport in Italia e in Europa

Alberto Molinari — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Lucia MOTTI e Marilena ROSSI CAPONERI (a cura di), Accademiste a Orvieto. Donne ed educazione fisica nell’Italia fascista 1932-1943

Angela Teja — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Renato BLANDA, Giuseppe LEONE, Gianni ROSSI, Adolfo URSO, Atleti in camicia nera. Lo sport nell’Italia di Mussolini

Deborah Guazzoni — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Andrea Bacci, Lo sport nella propaganda fascista

Felice Fabrizio — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Enrico Landoni, Gli atleti del Duce. La politica sportiva del fascismo 1919-1939

Pierfrancesco Trocchi — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Simon Martin, Calcio e fascismo. Lo sport nazionale sotto Mussolini

Francesca Tacchi — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Felice Fabrizio, Sport e fascismo. La politica sportiva del regime 1924-1936

Sergio Giuntini — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Erminio Fonzo, Il nuovo goliardo: i littoriali dello sport e l’atletismo universitario nella costruzione del totalitarismo fascista

Lorenzo Venuti — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Rosella Isidori Frasca, “… e il duce le volle sportive”

Sergio Giuntini — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Maria Canella, Sergio Giuntini (a cura di), Sport e fascismo

Enrico Landoni — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Storia e storiografia dello sport durante il fascismo

Erminio Fonzo, Enrico Landoni — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Un'opera dimenticata

Erminio Fonzo — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The three volumes of Storia degli sport edited by Andrea Franzoni constitute the first attempt in Italy to produce a general study on the history of athletics. The work was published in the midst of the Fascist dictatorship and could not fail to be influenced by the political context, so much so that many of its parts are characterised by a nationalistic approach and a desire to highlight the successes, real or presumed, of the regime's sports policy. However, being aimed at a more restricted audience than other publications, the Storia dello sport does not merely repeat the most common theses that appeared in the newspapers, but also proposes more realistic and well-founded considerations. Today, the work is all but forgotten, but it can be a very useful source for those studying sport during the Fascist period, as it provides a clear understanding of the ideas on athleticism that circulated in the regime

Un anno di storia dello sport

Tommaso Begotti — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000