Giorgia Meloni and the hard right are celebrating JRR Tolkien’s saga – while taking over Italy’s key cultural institutions, says Florence-based author Jamie Mackay
Italy has a shameful fascist past and present that can abuse Tolkien’s work like many other fascists do. Italy’s shambolic, incoherent and ridiculous fascism melds well with Tolkien’s own multifaceted views in some respects. He did (as a Catholic not a fascist) support Franco, though in later life turn towards the traditional left wing libertarianism/anarchism. And his letter to the Nazis condemning their bigotry is well-known.
Italy has a shameful fascist past and present that can abuse Tolkien’s work like many other fascists do. Italy’s shambolic, incoherent and ridiculous fascism melds well with Tolkien’s own multifaceted views in some respects. He did (as a Catholic not a fascist) support Franco, though in later life turn towards the traditional left wing libertarianism/anarchism. And his letter to the Nazis condemning their bigotry is well-known.