This article explores the role of theatre in the strategies of cultural diplomacy that developed in Italy between the last years of the liberal state (1919–22) and the rise of Benito Mussolini. It covers the period until 1927, when the establishment of the Istituti Italiani di Cultura (Italian Cultural Institutes) and the approval of a new regulatory framework for migration marked a new era for fascist soft-power ambitions. The article draws upon unpublished sources of the Historical Diplomatic Archive of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and offers a new perspective on the use of theatre and the performing arts as a tool for cultural diplomacy through the testimony of such flagship authors as Luigi Pirandello, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Alfredo Casella, and Pietro Mascagni. Matteo Paoletti is a Senior Assistant Professor in Theatre Studies at the University of Bologna and part of the research project ‘Historia y patrimonio de la Argentina moderna’ with the Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Buenos Aires. He was a Cultural Attaché at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and oversaw the 2003 Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage for the Italian National Commission for UNESCO. His recent publications include ‘A Huge Revolution of Theatrical Commerce’: Walter Mocchi and the Italian Musical Theatre Business in South America (Cambridge University Press, 2020)

本文探讨戏剧在自由主义国家末期（1919-22 年）和贝尼托·墨索里尼崛起之间在意大利发展起来的文化外交战略中的作用。它涵盖了直到 1927 年的时期，当时 Istituti Italiani di Cultura（意大利文化机构）的成立和新的移民监管框架的批准标志着法西斯软实力野心的新时代。这篇文章借鉴了意大利外交部历史外交档案的未发表资料，并通过路易吉·皮兰德洛、菲利波等旗舰作家的证词，提供了将戏剧和表演艺术用作文化外交工具的新视角托马索·马里内蒂、阿尔弗雷多·卡塞拉和彼得罗·马斯卡尼。Matteo Paoletti 是博洛尼亚大学戏剧研究高级助理教授，也是布宜诺斯艾利斯国立圣马丁大学“阿根廷现代历史与遗产”研究项目的一部分。他曾是意大利外交部的文化专员，并为意大利联合国教科文组织全国委员会监督了 2003 年《非物质文化遗产公约》。他最近的出版物包括“戏剧商业的巨大革命”：Walter Mocchi 和南美的意大利音乐剧商业（剑桥大学出版社，2020 年）