Neofascist Propaganda in Contemporary Rome
The Fresno State Library presents “Where Monsters Are Born: Documenting a Fascist Revival in the Streets of Rome, 2018–2019,” an exhibition that critically examines the rise of neofascism in Italy through the lens of visual and spatial propaganda (see the Jan. 27 listing).
The exhibition features materials collected by Dr. Brian J. Griffith, a historian at Fresno State, during his time in Rome on a Fulbright Fellowship. Visitors will encounter posters, stickers, handbills and banners, many of which were “harvested” directly from the streets of Rome by Griffith during his time in Italy.
The exhibition offers an unsettling look at the strategies employed by Italy’s neofascist groups to insert their views into the public sphere, including design, selective memory and historical revisionism, to normalize far-right ideologies and shape public consciousness.
Griffith emphasizes the importance of recognizing and resisting these ideologies, particularly as Western democracies grapple with the rise of extremist movements. “In recent years, we have seen authoritarian ideas increasingly infiltrate the public sphere. By understanding the strategies these groups use, we can better combat their spread,” Griffith said.
“The exhibition illuminates the visual and spatial tactics used by far-right groups to push their politics into public spaces, challenging us to critically engage with the ways propaganda shapes our worldviews and the politics of memory. ”The exhibition title is drawn from the words of Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci, who wrote in his Prison Notebooks: “The old world is dying. The new one is slow to appear. And in this interregnum, monsters are born.”
