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The Mosaics of Flight by Angelo Canevari in Forlì
Mario Proli Journalist , Atrium Association Patrick Leech Full Professor , University of Bologna , Atrium Association
The architectural and artistic heritage of Forlì includes a work of great value , both from a cultural and historical point of view – the mosaics in the former Aeronautical College , now a school for 11 – 14-year-olds . This is a truly impressive work of art dating back to the second half of the 1930s , based on drawings by Angelo Canevari and dedicated to the theme of flight . More precisely , they depict the myth of flight and the relationship between man and the conquest of the skies as interpreted by the Fascist regime . The mosaics are perhaps the most striking example of the ‘ dissonant ’ heritage of the city of Forlì – the ‘ città del Duce ’ rebuilt as a showcase for Fascism in the 1920s and 1930s , but a city awarded the ‘ silver medal for its part in the Resistance (‘ Medaglia d ’ argento al valor militare per attività partigiana ’) and with a strong post-war tradition of antifascism . The mosaics have an undoubted artistic value alongside a cultural and historical value as an example of the propaganda of the Fascist regime .
This surprising visual narrative composed of black and white marble tiles ( with , as we shall see , a single exception of the use of the color green on one occasion ) has an intrinsic artistic value : the combination of the rediscovery of the mosaic in a contemporary key with the some of the main elements of Futurism such as the thrill of speed , the exaltation of technique , the choice of dynamic lines and geometric shapes , the exaltation of heroic deeds . All this is interpreted according to an interpretative key closely linked to the vision of the writer and poet ( but also airplane pilot and military man of action ) Gabriele D ’ Annunzio , and intimately tied to the ideology of the regime .
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Observing Memories Issue 8