Archeologia e fascismo negli archivi di Luigi Maria Ugolini

Abstract

The rediscovery of the archives related to the research carried out in Malta by L. M. Ugolini on behalf of the Regime, together with the study of related documentation, allows us to reconstruct how Prehistory came to be used in the Twenties to justify Italian territorial aspirations in the Mediterranean. These theories contradicted Nordist claims that it was the Aryans who brought ci- vilization to the Mediterranean; they also put to rest the outdated view that the Phoenicians were responsible for the megalithic temples of Malta. In the course of his life, Ugolini acted as a voice of propaganda for the Regime. However, as staunch believer of Mediterraneanism, he worked tirelessly to highlight the grandeur of prehistoric cultures throu- ghout the Mediterranean, and sought archaeological evidence to support the anthropological theories of G. Sergi on the origins of the Mediterranean race.