Occult Imperium: Arturo Reghini, Roman Traditionalism, and the Anti-Modern Reaction in Fascist Italy

by Christian Giudice

Overview

Christian Giudice's Occult Imperium explores Italian national forms of Occultism, chiefly analyzing Arturo Reghini (1878-1946), his copious writings, and Roman Traditionalism. Trained as a mathematician at the prestigious University of Pisa, Reghini was one of the three giants of occult and esoteric thought in Italy, alongside his colleagues Julius Evola (1898-1974) and Giulian Kremmerz (1861-1930). Using Reghini's articles, books, and letters, as a guide, Giudice explores the interaction between occultism, Traditionalism, and different facets of modernity in early-twentieth-century Italy. The book takes into consideration many factors particular to the Italian peninsula: the ties with avant-garde movements such as the Florentine Scapigliatura and Futurism, the occult vogues typical to Italy, the rise to power of Benito Mussolini and Fascism, and, lastly, the power of the Holy See over different expressions of spirituality. Occult Imperium explores the convergence of new forms of spirituality in early twentieth-century Italy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780197610268
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/17/2021
Series:	Oxford Studies in Western Esotericism
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Christian Giudice received his PhD from the University of Gothenburg. His work focuses on the Italian esoteric milieu of the early twentieth century. His other interests include fin de siècle occultism in France, England and Italy, Guénonian Traditionalism, the history of Thelema, and the relationship between occultism and cinema.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Anti-Modern Side of Modernity Chapter 2: Risorgimento Italy: Occultism, Politics, the Rise of the Nation State, and Roman Traditionalism Chapter 3: The Early Years (1898-1910): Avantgarde, Theosophy, and Anti-Modernism Chapter 4: The Schola Italica and the Rito Filosofico Italiano (1910-1914): Initiation and Invention of Tradition in Modern Italy Chapter 5: The Great War and 'Pagan Imperialism' (1915-1920): A Clash Between the Modern and the Traditional Chapter 6: Fascism and Traditionalism: Modernity and Anti-Modernity (1920-1925) Chapter 7: The UR Group and the End of a Dream (1923-1929) Chapter 8: Silentium Post Clamores (1930-1946) Chapter 9: Concluding Remarks Appendix: 'Imperialismo Pagano': English Translation Bibliography Index

Editorial Reviews

"With this outstanding volume, Christian Giudice is offering us the first academic monograph ever dedicated to Arturo Reghini and his milieu. Erudite, wide-ranging and yet eminently readable, the present study illuminates the cultural and political roots of fin-de-siècle and early twentieth-century Occultism in Italy, up to and including the Fascist era. By retracing Reghini's intricate intellectual and Masonic journeys, Giudice gives us a penetrating analysis of the entanglements of occult spirituality, (neo)pagan Roman Traditionalism and an anti-modern political stance typical of the then cultural avant-garde, in an Italy grappling with the seemingly unstoppable onslaught of modernity, nationalism, and war." — Jean-Pierre Brach, Directeur d'études, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sorbonne

"Occult Imperium covers the life and work of Arturo Reghini, Italian esotericist, translator of René Guénon, and author of the original "Pagan Imperialism" of 1914, a work that inspired the title, and much of the content, of Julius Evola's Pagan Imperialism of 1928. Occult Imperium is recommended for all who have an interest in the history of Traditionalism, Guénon, and Evola, and also because it introduces us to the little-known Italian esoteric milieu from before the First World War to the Fascist period, a milieu that both echoes and differs from the better-known French esoteric milieu of the same period." — Mark Sedgwick, author of Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century

"With this outstanding volume, Christian Giudice is offering us the first academic monograph ever dedicated to Arturo Reghini and his milieu. Erudite, wide-ranging and yet eminently readable, the present study illuminates the cultural and political roots of fin-de-siècle and early twentieth-century Occultism in Italy, up to and including the Fascist era. By retracing Reghini's intricate intellectual and Masonic journeys, Giudice gives us a penetrating analysis of the entanglements of occult spirituality, (neo)pagan Roman Traditionalism and an anti-modern political stance typical of the then cultural avant-garde, in an Italy grappling with the seemingly unstoppable onslaught of modernity, nationalism, and war." — Jean-Pierre Brach, Directeur d'études, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sorbonne

"Occult Imperium covers the life and work of Arturo Reghini, Italian esotericist, translator of René Guénon, and author of the original Pagan Imperialism" of 1914, a work that inspired the title, and much of the content, of Julius Evola's Pagan Imperialism of 1928. Occult Imperium is recommended for all who have an interest in the history of Traditionalism, Guénon, and Evola, and also because it introduces us to the little-known Italian esoteric milieu from before the First World War to the Fascist period, a milieu that both echoes and differs from the better-known French esoteric milieu of the same period." — Mark Sedgwick, author of Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century.

"Based on a PhD thesis, this book is the first English monograph about the Italian esotericist Arturo Reghini (1878-1946). Through a detailed analysis of the social, cultural, and political context of Italy at the turn of the twentieth century, Giudice demonstrates the specificity of the ideals that informed the Schola Italica (Italic School), the neo-Pythagorean circle led by Reghini and his master Amedeon Armentano (1886-1966)." — Lukas K. Pokorny, University of Vienna

"Giudice's book is highly recommended for those interested in Reghini, Italian occultism, and its ambiguous relationship with the Fascist regime." — Davide Marino, Religious Studies Review

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