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Description

Another member of 'La Disperata', bodyguards of the poet-dictator, Italian Regency of Carnaro, Fiume 1919-20

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The immediate years following the carnage and upheaval of the Great War saw a collapse of the old political, social and moral orders. All over the World men & women broken and reforged by the horrors of the war attempted to make sense of their experiences by experimenting with forms of government and social organization. In the small Adriatic port city of Fiume (modern day Rijeka) it all got pretty weird.

The city was seized by Italian nationalists and army deserters in a coup, led by Italy's most famous living poet Gabriele D'Annunzio. The poet-dictator ruled the city for over a year before the Italian government was able to seize control. The city became an experiment in government and attracted Futurists, Fascists, Anarchists, Syndicalists, Nationalists and Communists, D'Annunzio supplied his army by raiding the surrounding countryside for supplies and by piracy on the Adriatic. The city attracted large numbers of Italian deserters , including Generals and the crews of entire naval ships. Sexual promiscuity and drugs were openly pursued, oh yes Cocaine explains a lot of what happened in Fiume.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_…

Unfortunately there aren't a great number of secondary sources available on Fiume in English. Below are a few that I would personally recommend.

History-   Michael A. Ledeen. The First Duce D'Annunzio At Fiume. (1977)
Biography-   Lucy Hughes-Hallett. The Pike, Gabriele D'Annunzio. (2013)

Fiction-   Bruce Sterling. Pirate Utopia. (2016)
Graphic novel- David B. Black Paths. (2011)

Description

Another member of 'La Disperata', bodyguards of the poet-dictator, Italian Regency of Carnaro, Fiume 1919-20

---

The immediate years following the carnage and upheaval of the Great War saw a collapse of the old political, social and moral orders. All over the World men & women broken and reforged by the horrors of the war attempted to make sense of their experiences by experimenting with forms of government and social organization. In the small Adriatic port city of Fiume (modern day Rijeka) it all got pretty weird.

The city was seized by Italian nationalists and army deserters in a coup, led by Italy's most famous living poet Gabriele D'Annunzio. The poet-dictator ruled the city for over a year before the Italian government was able to seize control. The city became an experiment in government and attracted Futurists, Fascists, Anarchists, Syndicalists, Nationalists and Communists, D'Annunzio supplied his army by raiding the surrounding countryside for supplies and by piracy on the Adriatic. The city attracted large numbers of Italian deserters , including Generals and the crews of entire naval ships. Sexual promiscuity and drugs were openly pursued, oh yes Cocaine explains a lot of what happened in Fiume.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_…

Unfortunately there aren't a great number of secondary sources available on Fiume in English. Below are a few that I would personally recommend.

History-   Michael A. Ledeen. The First Duce D'Annunzio At Fiume. (1977)
Biography-   Lucy Hughes-Hallett. The Pike, Gabriele D'Annunzio. (2013)

Fiction-   Bruce Sterling. Pirate Utopia. (2016)
Graphic novel- David B. Black Paths. (2011)