Three interconnected questions have been raised in the past few days
on this list about Evola and Fascism, that of the rôle and the
influence which he may have played in the doctrinal orientation of
that regime ; that of the intellectual and human relations between
Mussolini and him ; and, finally, that of the level of understanding
shown by Mussolini towards his work.
As far as the two first questions are concerned, the account which
has been given of the essential historical document which
the 'Taccuini mussoliniani' is has allowed us to shed a new light on
them and to refine the analysis which has been made in this respect,
without any reference to that document, by Anglo-Saxon scholars. The
third question is just as important, since, obviously, the extent to
which the ideas brought forward by Evola may have influenced Fascism
depends on Mussolini's understanding of those ideas. In the preface
to 'Imperialismo pagano' (Edizioni Mediterranee, 2004), de Turris
quotes this other excerpt of the 'Taccuini mussoliniani': "Contrary
to what is generally assumed, I was not annoyed in any way by the
stand taken by Dr Julius Evola a few months before the Treaty of
Conciliation against the possibility of peace between the Holy See
and Italy. Besides, the stand taken by Dr Evola did not concern
directly the relations between Italy and the Holy See, but the age-
long incompatibility which exists in his eyes between the Roman
tradition and the Catholic tradition. This is why, once Fascism is
identified with the remains of the Roman tradition, it cannot but be
considered as opposed to any historical outlook of the universalistic
order". De Turris adds rightly that that interpretation is closely
akin to the ideas and the intentions of Evola : "It means that
Mussolini had read the articles and/or the book ('Imperialismo
pagano') of the traditionalist thinker, while its author upheld the
opposite view (...). Of course, with his pragmatic realism, the Duce
saw that radical stand as a corrective to the excessive confessional
impulses of certain Fascist circles ; this can only lead us to
reconsider our views on the relations between Evola, Fascism and its
leader".
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