Browse Exhibits (3 total)

Guglielmo Giannini (1891–1960) was an Italian journalist, playwright, scriptwriter, theatre director, film director, and politician.  Establishing the weekly broadsheet L'uomo qualunque in 1944, he went on to found and develop ‘qualunquismo’ as a populist political movement. Gaining 5.3% of the popular vote in 1946, Giannini became a founding member of the Italian Constituent Assembly that was tasked to write the constitution of the newly formed Italian Republic

The exhibition Guglielmo Giannini: showman and politician sheds light on one of the protagonists of Italian politics after World War II: Guglielmo Giannini, the founder of the ‘qualunquismo’ movement. Employing a historical-biographical approach, the exhibition showcases the many professional activities carried out by Giannini (from journalism to dramaturgy, from criticism to film direction). What these activities highlight are the depth and breadth of Giannini’s creative talents, as well as a period of incubation of political activity. The ‘showman’ Giannini, who subsequently emerged as a politician, was adept at intuiting and grasping the needs (and desires) of postwar Italian audiences. Today, Giannini’s story serves not only as a historical window onto the past, but sheds significant light on the ‘qualunquismi’ present in contemporary politics.

The exhibition is supported by Deakin University (which holds the Guglielmo Giannini Digital Archive) in collaboration with the Centro Studi del Teatro Stabile di Torino (Teatro Nazionale), the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna – Biblioteca Universitaria di Bologna (Rodrigo Pais Fund), the University of Pavia, and the Centro Studi e Archivio della Comunicazione (CSAC) of the University of Parma, and by COASIT, that hosts it. It was held at COASIT from 11 May - 30 July 2023.