Il Selvaggio was founded by Angelo Bencini and Mino Maccari, an Italian fascist artist and journalist, in Colle di Val d'Elsa in 1924 as a political magazine.[2][3] The first issue of the bimonthly magazine was published on 13 July 1924.[4][5] The founding director was Angiolo Bencini who held the post until 1926 when Mino Maccari succeeded him.[2] The latter also edited the magazine.[6][7] It featured articles on art, politics and humor.[5]
The format of the magazine was 50x35 cm, but was changed to 44x32 cm.[4] It had a variable number of pages ranging from four to twelve pages.[4] From 1926 Il Selvaggio was headquartered in Florence.[4] The same year the Fascist government forced the magazine to include cultural and satirical materials, thus making clear its goal to promote a version of an anti-intellectual version of arts.[8] Then the magazine focused on the core of the Italian spirit observed "in the cradle of Italian civilization, namely the hills and countryside of Tuscany".[8] In this period it came out weekly and acted as a representative of Tuscan rural extremism.[9]
The editorial offices of Il Selvaggio moved to Siena in 1929 and then to Turin in 1930.[10] In 1932 its headquarters moved to Rome.[10] The frequency of the magazine was also frequently changed but was mostly published irregularly.[2] Leo Longanesi, Ardengo Soffici, Carlo Carrà, Cafiero Tuti, Mario Tinti, Manlio Malabotta, Amerigo Bartoli Natinguerra, Giuseppe Pensabene and Ottone Rosai were among the leading contributors of the magazine.[4] In 1932 Soffici published articles on his experience in Paris in the early years of the 20th century in the magazine.[11] Over time Il Selvaggio focused on artistic subjects, including architectural topics, instead of political topics.[4] The last issue of the magazine appeared in June 1943.[2]
