Two centenaries have recently been celebrated in Florence, both of them of writers and editors who had much to do with the vital upsurge of activity which came under the general heading of Futurism-though neither of them came under the sway of Marinetti in the least-and both were editors of influential reviews published in Florence before the First World War.

On 27 January, Giuseppe Prezzolini celebrated his hundredth birthday in person, and, even more remarkably, contributed a front-page article to La Nazione, which, along with other newspapers, devoted its literary page to him on that day. He has lived quietly in Lugarno for many years, published his Diari in 1978, and has a great many books to his name, especially about America where he lived and taught during the Fascist era, but he will be remembered primarily for his editorship of La Voce, published in Florence from 1908 to 1916.

The review's title and face were thought up by Ardengo Soffici, the resident art editor, who first introduced Italians to the new French painting (arranging the first exhibition of modern French art seen in Italy, in Florence in 1910) before moving on to an appraisal of current Italian art. What was notable about the review was that it sought to take culture out of the Academies and place it in the open for public debate. In this it was successful, with contributors including Boine, Slataper, Serra, De Robertis (as well as Papini and Soffici) and, on the ...