La Spezia and futurism
There is an indelible liaison historically and ideally linking Futurism and the Gulf of La Spezia.
Antonio Sant’Elia had the idea, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti provided the impetus to implement that idea: during the 30’s, numerous public and private futurist buildings populated the city – valuable architectural works of great historical and artistic interest.
The Gulf of La Spezia, one of the most active seaplane bases in Italy, attracted the interest of the newly-born Futurist movement. Seaplanes had been invented at the beginning of the 20th century right in this Gulf, and Futurism chose seaplanes as its symbol, thus making La Spezia an example of “new city”.
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti celebrated the city of La Spezia with his “Aeropoema del Golfo della Spezia” (literally, Poem from a flight over the Gulf of La Spezia), a literary work on a futuristic flight over the Gulf where the main character takes off from Cadimare and flies by seaplane.
Hence, from seaplanes, the futurist history of La Spezia began.
Aerial-painting, aerial-post, the dynamic synthesis of reality, of art and of literature came to life in the heart of the Gulf of La Spezia.
In 1933, Marinetti created the Paining Award for the Gulf of La Spezia and launched a “Challenge to all Poets of Italy”, inviting them to celebrate the “Gulf of La Spezia, synthesis of the forces and kindnesses of Italy”.
The challenge took place at the end of a Paining Award that had become popular at that time, at the main theater of the city. However, according to Marinetti’s narration of events, it triggered a “pandemonium of slaps and blows” among the public, as it often happened during futurist events.
In perfect Futurism style, Marinetti in La Spezia also created an important circle of people: painters, poets, and architects who enriched the soul of the city with their newspapers, magazines, exhibitions, circles, initiatives, and who changed the appearances of the city thanks to public buildings, private houses, sculptures, and mosaics, such as the one by Fillia and Prampolini – still visible in the Tower of Palazzo delle Poste (Central Post Office Building).
Inside and outside of the city walls, there are façades, public and private buildings constructed in futurist style, to testify and record the prolific cultural and artistic activities of the city during the 30’s. its heritage is still extremely relevant at national and European level.
Even if the sky of the city is no longer crossed by seaplanes performing fascinating maneuvers, La Spezia cherishes the memory of Marinetti and Futurism in its buildings, structures, and in its soul.
Antonio Sant’Elia had the idea, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti provided the impetus to implement that idea: during the 30’s, numerous public and private futurist buildings populated the city – valuable architectural works of great historical and artistic interest.
The Gulf of La Spezia, one of the most active seaplane bases in Italy, attracted the interest of the newly-born Futurist movement. Seaplanes had been invented at the beginning of the 20th century right in this Gulf, and Futurism chose seaplanes as its symbol, thus making La Spezia an example of “new city”.
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti celebrated the city of La Spezia with his “Aeropoema del Golfo della Spezia” (literally, Poem from a flight over the Gulf of La Spezia), a literary work on a futuristic flight over the Gulf where the main character takes off from Cadimare and flies by seaplane.
Hence, from seaplanes, the futurist history of La Spezia began.
Aerial-painting, aerial-post, the dynamic synthesis of reality, of art and of literature came to life in the heart of the Gulf of La Spezia.
In 1933, Marinetti created the Paining Award for the Gulf of La Spezia and launched a “Challenge to all Poets of Italy”, inviting them to celebrate the “Gulf of La Spezia, synthesis of the forces and kindnesses of Italy”.
The challenge took place at the end of a Paining Award that had become popular at that time, at the main theater of the city. However, according to Marinetti’s narration of events, it triggered a “pandemonium of slaps and blows” among the public, as it often happened during futurist events.
In perfect Futurism style, Marinetti in La Spezia also created an important circle of people: painters, poets, and architects who enriched the soul of the city with their newspapers, magazines, exhibitions, circles, initiatives, and who changed the appearances of the city thanks to public buildings, private houses, sculptures, and mosaics, such as the one by Fillia and Prampolini – still visible in the Tower of Palazzo delle Poste (Central Post Office Building).
Inside and outside of the city walls, there are façades, public and private buildings constructed in futurist style, to testify and record the prolific cultural and artistic activities of the city during the 30’s. its heritage is still extremely relevant at national and European level.
Even if the sky of the city is no longer crossed by seaplanes performing fascinating maneuvers, La Spezia cherishes the memory of Marinetti and Futurism in its buildings, structures, and in its soul.
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La SpeziaInteresting facts
Futurists, through their works, glorified the natural wonders and the military structures of the Gulf with a modern sensitivity. Today, La Spezia is still an open-air museum of futurist art and architecture.
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