Mario Pannunzio (5 March 1910 – 10 February 1968) was an Italian journalist and politician. As a journalist he was the director in charge of the daily newspaper Risorgimento Liberale (Liberal reawakening) in the 1940s and of the weekly political magazine Il Mondo (The World) in the 1950s. As a politician he was a co-founder of the revived Italian Liberal Party in the 1940s and then of the Radical Party in 1955.
Life
Early years
Mario Pannunzio was born in Lucca, a prosperous Tuscan city a short distance inland to the north of Pisa. He was the second son of Guglielmo Pannunzio, a lawyer of strong communist proclivities originally from the Abruzzo region. The boy's mother, Emma Bernardini, came from a traditional catholic family from the minor aristocracy. When Mario was 10 his father fell foul of the local Fascists and the family were obliged to relocate, ending up in Rome which is where Mario completed his schooling at the prestigious liceo classico Mamiani (classical secondary school). After this, respectful of his father's wishes, he enrolled at Rome University, emerging on 6 July 1931 with a degree in jurisprudence.
The grade of his university degree was indifferent: he had been keen to obtain his degree quickly in order to clear the way for dedicating himself to his real passion, which was not for law but for art. While still at university he became a regular visitor at the Caffè Aragno in the city centre, which was a favourite meeting point for cerebrally inclined intellectuals during the 1930s. He himself became known as "lo Sfaccendato" ("the idler") at the cafe according to one commentator, although his later achievements suggest that the judgement may have rested on incomplete information. In 1931 he took part in the "Prima quadriennale d'arte nazionale" (art exhibition) which ran from January till August 1931, exhibiting several pictures including a portrait of his sister, Sandrina. By 1934, however, he had abandoned painting, turning instead to literary criticism. He got to know Attilio Riccio, formerly a fellow law student, who introduced him to this new milieu, and joined the editorial team of "Il Saggiatore", a short-lived left-field cultural magazine which had originated as a student publication. He contributed reviews and articles in which he discussed the general characteristics and purpose of the novel. It was also around this time that he renewed his acquaintance with Arrigo Benedetti (the two had known each other as children in Lucca.) and began his long friendship with Ennio Flaiano.
Between 1933 and 1935 he was involved in three magazines, founded with a group of friends: "Oggi. Settimanale di lettere ed arti" (later "Rassegna mensile") was produced between May 1931 and May 1934. The "Oggi" group was formed by Pannunzio, together with Antonio Delfini, Eurialo De Michelis, Guglielmo Serafini and Elio Talarico. The project elaborated a debate on the renewal of Italian literature. The magazine claimed for itself a "neo-realist orientation" over the issues of the age, and contrasted this with the more traditional existing approach represented by publications such as "Strapaese" and "Il Selvaggio", both of which opposed the avant-garde extremes encountered during the early decades of the twentieth century. Other sources state simply that "Oggi" was closed down after February 1942 at the request of Georg von Mackensen, the German ambassador. "La Corrente", co-founded with Alberto Moravia. "Caratteri", launched in March 1935 and surviving till July of that year. Pannunzio founded it together with Arrigo Benedetti and Antonio Delfini.
These early experiences of journalism would be highly significant: Panunzio understood "the enormous influence of journalism", a form of communication he had been inclined to overlook when, as a very young man, he had been preoccupied with communicating through art and literary criticism.
It was in 1935 that Mario Pannunzio married Mary Malina, a young Hungarian actress whom he had met at a Rome theatre. The marriage was childless.
During 1936 and 1937 Pannunzio devoted himself to cinema. Basing himself at the newly established Experimental film centre in Rome, he directed the short film "Vecchio Tabarin" ("Old Tabarin").