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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 . The mosaics at the former Aeronautical College in Forlì an artistic masterpiece from the late 1930s , created from designs by Angelo Canevari . They vividly depict the myth of flight and humanity ’ s pursuit of conquering the skies , as envisioned through the lens of the Fascist regime . These mosaics stand as one of the most striking examples of Forlì ’ s ‘ dissonant heritage ,’ reflecting a complex and layered historical narrative | Pictures by Ricard Conesa ( EUROM )
D ’ Annunzio ’ s Futurism
As well as being influenced by the futurism of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and “ Aeropittura ” ( a current of the movement focused on the enthusiasm for flight , courage and power ), the Forlì mosaics of the history of flight were strongly influenced by D ’ Annunzio ’ s thought , itself central to the ideology of Italian aviation during Fascism . His work included a reappraisal of the myth of Icarus , exalted in poems such as “ L ’ ala sul mare ” (‘ the wing over the sea ’), “ Altius egit iter ” (‘ he flew even higher ’) and “ Ditirambo IV ” ( Dithyramb IV ’) and in the novel “ Forse che si forse che no ” (‘ Perhaps yes , perhaps no ’). In D ’ Annunzio , however , the image of Icarus is the opposite of that in antiquity where , for example in Ovid , the curious young man loses his life for not having respected his father ’ s advice for him to be prudent . For D ’ Annunzio , Icarus becomes instead a heroic example of one who accepts a challenge , and in this he is supported by the example of Phaeton , another imprudent youth . In 1909 D ’ Annunzio had declared that modernity had already surpassed both the myths of antiquity and the dreams of the Renaissance and he recruited both Icarus and Leonardo as precursors . These two , in fact , became the key symbols for Fascist aviation in Italian Aeronautical Exhibition of the Palazzo dell ’ Arte in Milan in 1934 , to whom were added the contemporary figures of Francesco Baracca ( the hero of the Great War ), Italo Balbo ( the commander of the trans-oceanic flight to Chicago and New York in 1933 ) and , indeed , Gabriele D ’ Annunzio himself , the indomitable pilot who flew over Vienna during the First World War dropping anti-Austrian leaflets . It was this exhibition which inspired the work of Canevari for the mosaics in Forlì . overview
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