D’Annunzio's library at the Vittoriale features numerous books dedicated to Islam, among with several fine editions of the Koran, which testify to his interest in Arabic culture. The fascination with Egypt, to which he travelled in 1899 with Eleonora Duse and Matilde Serao, resurfaces in Notturno. This openness toward the ‘other’ only apparently contrasts with his colonialist stance. It is known that, like his friend Edoardo Scarfoglio, he was a convinced supporter of the occupation of Libya, to which he paid tribute in Merope. Canti della guerra d’oltremare (1912), and that he went as far as praising Italian aerial bombings that violated the Aja Convention. Given D’Annunzio's involvement in colonial history, and his association with Fascism, it is not surprising that the reception of his work in the Arab world should be a complex matter. This chapter explores the image that the media, cultural magazines and the academic establishment shaped of D’Annunzio from the 1930s to today. Drawing on articles issued in the Arabic press by renowned intellectuals like Jorji Zaydan and Derrini Khashaba in the first half of the twentieth century, as well as articles published recently in the Arab media, it investigates what aspects of D’Annunzio attracted Arab intellectuals during the time in which modern Italian literature was beginning to be translated into Arabic. It also examines the dramatic changes that this reception has undergone in the last few decades.

D’Annunzio and Cultural Journalism in Egypt between 1876 and 1935

As Isabella Camara D’Afflitto notes, Arabic intellectuals, between 1876 and 1935, had a cosmopolitan outlook. In these years, they commented on, reviewed and translated a great deal of literary works published in Europe. Italian literature remained marginal in this project, and Italian authors were often translated from French, English or Russian editions. Maria Avino notes that three cultural magazines played a crucial role in divulgation of the Occidental cultural production: al-Hilāl; al Muqtaţaf, the publication of which lasted several decades; and al-Ğāmi’ah. These magazines acquired a great authority in literary matters, and it is to these publications that we refer to research the image of D’Annunzio that emerges in the Arab world during these years.