Furnishing Fascism

Modernist Design and Politics in Italy

Ignacio G. Galán

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English

University of Minnesota Press
20 August 2025

Art & design styles: Modernist design & Bauhaus; Furniture design; History of architecture; Political structures: totalitarianism & dictatorship

The role of modernist interior design in the construction of Italian nationalism

Along with the rise of Mussolini's fascist regime, the interwar years in Italy also saw the widespread development of its modernist interior design and furnishing practices. While the regime's politics were overtly manifest in monumental government architecture, Furnishing Fascism examines the subtler yet effective role of household goods and decor in the cultivation of Italy's exclusionary sense of national identity.

Presenting a fresh look at the work of various architects and designers, including iconic figures such as Gio Ponti and Carlo Enrico Rava, Ignacio G. Galn explores how seemingly neutral products of everyday life contributed to the propagation of fascist ideology. Through extensive promotion in popular magazines and department stores, on the film sets of Cinecitt Studios, and throughout the country's colonial territories, Italy's modernist design practices were part of a larger political project that aimed to produce a totalizing image of cultural hegemony.

Interweaving design theory, architectural history, and media scholarship, Furnishing Fascism reexamines the period's so-called minor arts to reveal the political entanglement of modernism in early twentieth-century Italy and offers valuable insight into the complications of cultural production under the auspices of authoritarian power.

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By: Ignacio G. Galán
Imprint: University of Minnesota Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 254mm, Width: 178mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781517916824
ISBN 10: 1517916828
Pages: 344
Publication Date: 20 August 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Contents Introduction: From the Chair to the Nation 1. The National Market of Furnishing: Toward the “New Italian House” 2. Interiors in Print Media: “The Question of Taste” 3. National Film Sets: The Synthesizing of Modernist Fictions 4. Furnishing the Empire: “Nomad” Interiors and Carceral Habitations 5. The Mobile Objects of Tourism: Mediterranean Occupations Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes Index

Ignacio G. Galn is assistant professor of architecture at Barnard College, Columbia University.

Reviews for Furnishing Fascism: Modernist Design and Politics in Italy

""A testament to masterful scholarship, Furnishing Fascism is a superb exploration of the intersection of furniture history and sociopolitical forces across disciplines. Ignacio G. Galán transcends the confines of Italian and European histories, tracing the journey of furniture and interior design across borders and colonial spaces to reveal their profound influence on cultures worldwide.""--Pamela Karimi, Cornell University ""Furnishing Fascism is an indispensable work that puts forth an inspired new approach to the mutual constitutions of interwar Italian design and fascist politics. It takes modernist views on interior furnishings as the lens through which to scrutinize Italian nation-building (instead of building elevations or finishings), showing how cinema, advertising, and other consumer arenas were integral to designers' political commitments.""--Mia Fuller, author of Moderns Abroad: Architecture, Cities and Italian Imperialism