Simonetta Falasca-Zamponi > Quotes

“religious rituals cast an aura of sacrality on bread by putting it in liminal contact with the celestial sphere. The meshing of the sacred with the profane endowed bread with a plethora of superimposed, ambivalent, and overcharged meanings, which the regime fully exploited.”
― Simonetta Falasca-Zamponi, Fascist Spectacle: The Aesthetics of Power in Mussolini's Italy

“Guillermo O'Donnell argues that one of the first actions undertaken by repressive and authoritarian regimes is the suppression of "horizontal voices"-that is, the possibility of "addressing others or others ... addressing me, claiming that we share some relevant characteristics."9 In the process of addressing others, we recognize ourselves as a "we," and the shaping of a collective identity takes place.”
― Simonetta Falasca-Zamponi, Fascist Spectacle: The Aesthetics of Power in Mussolini's Italy

“Injunction 93 of March 22, 1933, discussed the young fascist's summer outfit; youth were allowed to wear the black shirt without the tie and with the open collar, but they were absolutely forbidden to roll up the sleeves.60 On August 7, 1933, Starace reiterated that a fluttering tie was not allowed. On May 23, 1934, he "absolutely forbade" wearing the black shirt with a starched collar.”
― Simonetta Falasca-Zamponi, Fascist Spectacle: The Aesthetics of Power in Mussolini's Italy

“In an era of spectacular commodities, Mussolini offered fascism for communal consumption, and his aestheticized notion of politics governed the organization of the show. Mussolini's solipsism, his aspirations to omnipotence, his moral independence, and his disregard for individuals' values informed fascism's orientations and determined its direction.”
― Simonetta Falasca-Zamponi, Fascist Spectacle: The Aesthetics of Power in Mussolini's Italy

“Parliament, as the fundamental institution of "bourgeois" representative democracy, especially attracted criticism from the whole political spectrum.92”
― Simonetta Falasca-Zamponi, Fascist Spectacle: The Aesthetics of Power in Mussolini's Italy