LIVING ETHNOLOGICAL AND COLONIAL EXHIBITIONS IN LIBERAL AND FASCIST ITALY

%h is con:. tnbub'o n al' ms to provide a brief overview of some of the most s~gmficant manifestations of the phenomenon of living ethnological exhibitions in the Italy of the Liberal and Fascist eras.' To this end, two introductory remarks of a methodological nature seem to be appropriate. The first is that the phenomena linown as 'human zoos' belong to a wider category ofhistorical forms of 'use', i.e. 'public use', of live 'specimens' of alien races -those perceived as different, admirable or terrible (in their nature, appearance, ability or pathology) - in the context of representations and rituals of political power (triumphs, regal ceremonies, parades and pageants), social power (festivals, celebrations, theatrical entertainment, processions, displays for fairs and markets), or cultural power (collections, exhibitions of curiosities and wonders, places of scientific observation). The second remark is that, in our opinion, investigation on this kind of event, with reference to the specific contexts, modes and aims of the late: nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, should only use general categories - such as racism, propaganda, colonialism, commodification, reification, exploitation, or even newly coined categories such as animalization - with great caution. Such elements were certainly present in the sodo-cultural events inspired by the ideas of racial hierarchy and the exaltation of Western supremacy, but historical research should not be limited to compiling lists of episodes. It should instead bring to light not only general and common traits but also specific historical characteristics in the context of history and environment, focusing on the ambiguities that render general paradigms more problematic.