A POET IN POWER

Events that shaped the countries of the Mediterranean

An episode from the series ECHOES OF HISTORY

Synopsis

In 1919, the poet and activist Gabriele D'Annunzio turned the national frustrations of post-war Italy into political reality with the Fiume adventure.

When American President Wilson refuses to cede the town, located in Croatia, to Italy, on 12 September 1919, D'Annunzio and his cronies seize it and create an independent micro-state.

This experiment will last 15 months until D'Annunzio declares war on Italy. In December 1920, after a symbolic resistance, D'Annunzio and his men are forced to surrender when the navy bombed the town. It is the end of an unprecedented political experiment that contributed to the myth of the poet.