California Italian Studies

The paper demonstrates the importance of the Classical iconography, except the Ancient Roman one, in the Fascist propaganda. It starts considering how the Fascism has also taken inspiration from Ancient Greek artistic examples, often transforming and misinterpreting their original meaning. I especially focus my attention on the famous ancient masterpieces of the Nike of Samotracia, the Doryphoros and the Discobolus, that compared in various propaganda publications. In the second part of the article, I examine how Italian Renaissance's iconographies were recovered in order to sponsorize social policies, concerning family and health, also promoting the superiority of the Aryan race ideology. Finally I dedicate a short paragraph to the XVII century's Classicism and its revival in the Fascist Era, through the rediscovery of Guido Reni's paintings in Fascist propaganda publications.