The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 4 (190), 1277—1285
UDK 070(477.8):[821.161.2-4:910.4(450)]”19″
- Received: 06.07.2026
- Accepted: 29.07.2026
- Published: ??.??.2026
TRAVEL ESSAYS ABOUT ITALY: THE INTERWAR PERIOD AND THE UKRAINIAN POLITICAL CONTEXT
GABOR Vasyl
- ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5482-4529
- CSc in Philology, Senior Research Fellow,
- Senior Researcher,Research Institute for Press Studies;
- Vasyl Stefanyk National Scientific Library of Ukraine in Lviv,
- 2, Stefanyk Str., 79000, Lviv, Ukraine,
- Contacts: e-mail: vsgabor@gmail.com
Abstract. The aim of the article is to analyze travel essays about Italy in the Western Ukrainian press of the interwar period, which provide a basis for understanding the national and political context. In particular, it examines the Italian government’s policies on pilgrimage and tourism, critical attitudes toward the cult of Mussolini and the Fascist regime, police surveillance of foreign visitors, as well as national traditions (including theatrical and street performances and festivals), representations of Italians from different regions of the country, and their linguistic characteristics.
The study employs descriptive, systemic, analytical, and typological (comparative) methods, leading to the following conclusions.
Travel essays by famous writers, journalists, artists, religious figures, and political activists — including Mykhailo Ostroverkha, Sviatoslav Hordynskyi, Stepan Kovaliv, Zoreslav, Havryil Kostelnyk, Ivan Kurovets, Roman Kupchynskyi, Mykola Trotskyi, and others, published in periodicals «Vistnyk», «Dilo», «Nazustrich», «Nedilia», «Novyi Chas», and newspaper «Ukrainske Slovo», familiarized readers with the development of the tourist sector in Italy during the interwar period, its national traditions, artistic and architectural monuments, street festivities, and the social order of Italians. While the authors expressed admiration for national and cultural revival of Italy, they remained critical of the cult of Mussolini and the Fascist political system established under his rule. At the same time, they highlighted the distinctive cultural and linguistic features of Italy’s various regions and their inhabitants.
Keywords: Western Ukrainian press, travel essay, Italy, cult of Mussolini, Fascism, tourism industry, Italian national traditions.
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