“Michael Ledeen argues that D'Annunzio devised at Fiume much of the liturgy later used by Fascism, including 'the balcony address, the Roman salute, the cries of aia, aia, aia, alala', dramatic dialogues with the crowd and religious symbols in a secular setting.”

Context. Quoted in Luigi Barzini's 1978 review, which disputes the origin of the salute (traced to a pre-war Italian film of Quo Vadis) and doubts that Fascism needed D'Annunzio to take power. Paxton (2004) also links Fascist ritual to Fiume (not read directly).