Gabriele D'Annunzio

General Gabriele D'Annunzio Prince of Montenevoso OMS CMG MVM
D'Annunzio in 1922
Comandante of Carnaro
In office 12 September 1919 – 30 December 1920
Preceded by	Zoltán Jekelfalussy (Governor of the City of Fiume and its District)
Succeeded by	Riccardo Zanella (President of the Free State of Fiume)
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 5 April 1897 – 17 May 1900
Constituency	Ortona a Mare
Personal details
Born	(1863-03-12)12 March 1863 Pescara, Italy
Died	1 March 1938(1938-03-01) (aged 74) Gardone Riviera, Italy
Resting place	Vittoriale degli italiani, Gardone Riviera, Lake Garda, Italy
Political party	Historical Right (1897–1898) Historical Far Left (1898–1900) Italian Nationalist Association (1910–1923)
Spouse	Maria Hardouin ​ (m. 1883)​
Domestic partner	Eleonora Duse (1898–1901)
Children	Mario (1884–1964) Gabriellino (1886–1945) Ugo Veniero (1887–1945) Renata Anguissola (1893–1976) Gabriele Cruyllas (1897–1978)
Parent(s)	Francesco Paolo Rapagnetta and Luisa de Benedictis
Profession	Journalist, poet, soldier
Nickname(s)	Il Vate ("The Poet"); Il Profeta ("The Prophet")
Military service
Branch/service	Royal Italian Army Royal Air Force
Years of service	1915–1918
Rank	General (honorary) Lieutenant colonel Major
Unit	3rd Army Arditi
Battles/wars	World War I Impresa di Fiume Tenth Battle of the Isonzo Bakar raid Flight over Vienna
Writing career
Period	20th century
Genre	Poetry, novel
Subject	Individualism, existentialism
Literary movement	Decadence
Years active	1879–1938
Notable works	Il Piacere Il trionfo della morte La Gioconda
Signature

General Gabriele D'Annunzio, Prince of Montenevoso OMS CMG MVM (UK: /dæˈnʊntsioʊ/,^[1] US: /dɑːˈnuːn-/,^[2] Italian: [ɡabriˈɛːle danˈnuntsjo]; 12 March 1863 – 1 March 1938), sometimes written d'Annunzio as he used to sign himself,^[3] was an Italian poet, playwright, orator, journalist, aristocrat, and Royal Italian Army officer during World War I.

He occupied a prominent place in Italian literature from 1889 to 1910 and in its political life from 1914 to 1924. He was often referred to by the epithets il Vate ("the Poet"; the Italian vate directly stems from Latin vates, and its meaning is a poet with special emphasis on prophetic, inspiring, or divining qualities) and il Profeta ("the Prophet").^[4]

D'Annunzio was associated with the Decadent movement in his literary works, which interplayed closely with French symbolism and British aestheticism. Such works represented a turn against the naturalism of the preceding romantics and was both sensuous and mystical. He came under the influence of Friedrich Nietzsche, which would find outlets in his literary and later political contributions. His affairs with several women, including Eleonora Duse and Luisa Casati, received public attention. In his politics, which evolved many times, he associated himself with socialism and the progressivist views of the political left, responding to the illiberal and reactionary policies of Luigi Pelloux,^[4] as well as with the Historical Far Left.^[5]

During the Great War, D'Annunzio's image in Italy transformed from literary figure to national war hero.^[6] He was associated with the elite Arditi storm troops of the Italian Army and took part in actions such as the Flight over Vienna. As part of an Italian nationalist reaction against the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, he set up the short-lived Italian Regency of Carnaro in Fiume with himself as Duce. The Charter of Carnaro made music the fundamental principle of the state, which was corporatist in nature.^[7] Although D'Annunzio later preached nationalism and never called himself a fascist, he has been credited with partially inventing Italian fascism,^[8] as both his ideas and his aesthetics were an influence upon Benito Mussolini. At the same time, he was an influence on Italian socialists and an early inspiration to the first phase of the Italian resistance movement to fascism.^[4]