''Il Becco Giallo'' (English: "The Yellow Beak") was an

antifascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

satirical magazine in the 1920s in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

.Un novecento da ridere
, by Alessandro Frigerio The magazine existed between 1924 and 1926.

History

''Il Becco Giallo'' was founded by Alberto Giannini in 1924, and the first issue appeared on 13 January that year. The editorial column of the first issue sided clearly against fascism: ''Il Becco Giallo'' was based in Rome. The

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the magazine which was published on a weekly basis was

Alberto Cianca Alberto Cianca (1 January 1884 – 8 January 1966) was an Italian journalist and anti-fascist politician. He edited several significant publications, including '' Il Mondo'', and served in the Parliament and Senate. Early life and education Cian ...

. Contributors included Gabriele Galantara, founder and editor of ''

L'Asino ''L'Asino'' (English: "The Donkey") was an Italian magazine of political satire founded in Rome in 1892, by Guido Podrecca (1865–1923) and Gabriele Galantara (1867–1937), a former mathematics student, designer and cartoonist, both with a soci ...

'',Galantara, Gabriele
Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 51 (1998) and

Stefano Siglienti Stefano Siglienti (1898 – 1971) was an Italian banker and politician who served as the Italian Minister of Finance, minister of finance from 18 June until 12 December 1944. He held several banking posts until his death. Early life and educatio ...

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; ; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italians, Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his bold and ...

, for his devotion to

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

, was one of ''Il Becco Giallo'' 's satirical targets, and used to be called ''P.Randello'' (''randello'' in Italian means '

club (weapon) A club (also known as a cudgel, baton, bludgeon, truncheon, cosh, nightstick, or impact weapon) is a short staff or stick, usually made of wood, wielded as a weapon or tool since prehistory. There are several examples of blunt trauma, blunt-forc ...

').Chiesa, Adolfo (1990
''La satira politica in Italia: con un'intervista a Tullio Pericoli''
p.38 In 1926 the

fascist regime Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

forced Giannini to close it and emigrate to France.BeccoGiallo: fumetti impegnati e resistenza editoriale
in Fanzin-Arte Editor-in-chief Alberto Cianca also fled to Paris where he managed to continue to publish ''Il Becco Giallo''. On 1 August 1927 the new clandestine series of the magazine appeared in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, with co-editor

, thanks to financial subsidies collected in ''

Concentrazione Antifascista Italiana (CAI; Italian Anti-Fascist Concentration), officially known as (Anti-Fascist Action Concentration), was an Italian coalition of anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. B ...

'' (Italian Anti-Fascist Concentration) circles through the intervention of

Filippo Turati Filippo Turati (; 26 November 1857 – 29 March 1932) was an Italian sociologist, criminologist, poet and socialist politician. Early life Born in Canzo, province of Como, he graduated in law at the University of Bologna in 1877, and particip ...

and the Italo-Argentine industrialist Torquato Di Tella, and later also with the contribution of the ''

Giustizia e Libertà Giustizia e Libertà (; ) was an Italian anti-fascist resistance movement, active from 1929 to 1945.James D. Wilkinson (1981). ''The Intellectual Resistance Movement in Europe''. Harvard University Press. p. 224. The movement was cofounded by ...

'' movement. The publications of the clandestine journal continued until August 1931 (77 issues in all), when the journal closed due to disagreements that arose between

Carlo Rosselli Carlo Alberto Rosselli (16 November 18999 June 1937) was an Italian political leader, journalist, historian, philosopher and anti-fascist activist, first in Italy and then abroad. He developed a theory of reformist, non-Marxist socialism inspir ...

, who guaranteed funding, and Giannini, who edited the journal. In the same period, two magazines emerged in Italy that were characterized for developing an innovative

surreal humour Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causality, causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviors that are obviously illogical. Portra ...

, the ''

Bertoldo ''Bertoldo'' was a biweekly magazine of surreal humour that ran from 14 July 1936 to 10 September 1943 under Italian Fascism. The magazine was based in Milan. While the '' Becco Giallo'' magazine put out courageous political satire against the f ...

'' and the ''

Marc'Aurelio ''Marc'Aurelio'' was an Italian satirical magazine, published between 1931 and 1958, and briefly resurrected in 1973. History and profile The weekly magazine was founded in Rome by Oberdan Catone and Vito De Bellis in 1931. It was the first satir ...

''; the authors of these magazines were reactionaries that avoided political satire to comply with the regime.

Mario Monicelli Mario Alberto Ettore Monicelli (; 16 May 1915 – 29 November 2010) was an Italian film director and screenwriter, one of the masters of the ''commedia all'italiana'' ("Italian-style comedy"). He was nominated six times for an Academy Awards, Os ...

in De Franceschi, Leonardo (2001
''Lo sguardo eclettico: il cinema di Mario Monicelli''
p.2
excerpt
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History

See also

References

Further reading