Leiden University Student Repository

Bartoli, Eleonora (2021)

Iconoclasm in Italy today: The role of national and international ideologies in shaping the management of memory

Bachelor thesis | Kunstgeschiedenis (BA)

The purpose of this research is to describe how iconoclasm is taking shape in contemporary Italy, by analyzing and comparing the “Mussolini Dux” obelisk in Rome with the statue of Indro Montanelli in Milan: while the former resisted any form of iconoclasm from the post-war period until the present day, the latter has been recently subject to several iconoclastic acts. The different ways in which the public engages with these two monuments reveal that iconoclasm in Italy is driven by international influence, that is nevertheless resisted when it comes to challenging strong national ideologies like fascism. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this research suggests that iconoclasm is not opposite bur rather complementary to collective memory, as it recognizes the importance of remembering rather than forgetting. Iconoclasm is the phenomenon that make us remember that memory must be kept alive by demanding new interpretations of the past. However, this research also shows that...Show moreThe purpose of this research is to describe how iconoclasm is taking shape in contemporary Italy, by analyzing and comparing the “Mussolini Dux” obelisk in Rome with the statue of Indro Montanelli in Milan: while the former resisted any form of iconoclasm from the post-war period until the present day, the latter has been recently subject to several iconoclastic acts. The different ways in which the public engages with these two monuments reveal that iconoclasm in Italy is driven by international influence, that is nevertheless resisted when it comes to challenging strong national ideologies like fascism. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this research suggests that iconoclasm is not opposite bur rather complementary to collective memory, as it recognizes the importance of remembering rather than forgetting. Iconoclasm is the phenomenon that make us remember that memory must be kept alive by demanding new interpretations of the past. However, this research also shows that this is not the way collective memory and iconoclasm are understood in Italy today.Show less

monuments

cancel culture

iconoclasm

collective memory

transitional justice

Author

Bartoli, Eleonora

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Arts, Media and Society

Supervisors

Lauritano, S. M.
Huiskens, M. D. H. P.

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en