Simona Micali (Arezzo)
When UFOs Will Land in Lucca: Apocalypse in Italian SF
In my talk I will try to outline the main features of apocalyptic imagination in Italian science-fiction. I will begin with the first Italian experiments in anticipation fiction, still wavering at the intersection between utopia and the fantastic; then we will proceed through some daring futurist fantasies, and will arrive at the first conscious attempts at founding an Italian SF; finally I will devote my attention to the more cunning, postmodern games with the structures of popular SF.
In this quick investigation I will also take into account the role of foreign models, especially American ones. In fact, for many decades Italian SF has been regarded as second-hand and naive production: my aim is to verify if this ‘provincial’ quality has also offered the chance for an original, even favoured vantage point for observing our future, compared to the kind of anticipation to which American and specifically Hollywood catastrophic imagination has accustomed us.
In this quick investigation I will also take into account the role of foreign models, especially American ones. In fact, for many decades Italian SF has been regarded as second-hand and naive production: my aim is to verify if this ‘provincial’ quality has also offered the chance for an original, even favoured vantage point for observing our future, compared to the kind of anticipation to which American and specifically Hollywood catastrophic imagination has accustomed us.
