At the Roots of Italian Vegetarianism: The Forgotten Voice of Edmondo Marcucci
by Gloria Manoni
This thesis explores the intellectual, political, and cultural history of vegetarianism in modern Italy through the largely forgotten figure of Edmondo Marcucci (1900–1963), a pacifist, antifascist intellectual, and co-founder of the Italian Vegetarian Society. Moving beyond the common perception of vegetarianism as a contemporary phenomenon, the study reconstructs its deeper historical roots and situates Marcucci within broader transnational debates on nonviolence, religion, environmental thought, ethical reform, and social activism.
The work argues that Marcucci’s vegetarianism cannot be reduced to a merely dietary choice or a medical concern. Instead, it emerged from a wider ethical and spiritual vision centered on universal nonviolence. Through extensive archival research conducted primarily in the Fondo Marcucci preserved at the Biblioteca Planettiana in Jesi, the thesis reconstructs the intellectual influences, networks, and cultural environments that shaped his worldview.
A major contribution of the thesis lies in its ability to connect the history of vegetarianism with broader currents of twentieth-century European intellectual history. The first chapter situates modern vegetarianism within the rise of environmental consciousness, romantic critiques of industrial modernity, hygienist medicine, and religious-spiritual reform movements. Beginning with nineteenth-century England and Germany, the thesis traces how industrialization generated new concerns about urban pollution, the destruction of nature, and the moral consequences of modern capitalism. Figures such as William Morris, Edward Carpenter, John Ruskin, Gandhi, and John Muir are presented as central references in the emergence of ecological and vegetarian thought.
The study then examines the development of the first Italian vegetarian associations during the early twentieth century. These organizations, initially rooted in hygienist and naturist cultures, promoted vegetarianism as a means of improving both physical and moral health. The thesis carefully reconstructs the social composition, ideological orientation, and cultural ambitions of these early movements, highlighting their links to broader European reformist environments.
One of the strongest analytical dimensions of the work concerns the relationship between vegetarianism and nonviolence. The thesis demonstrates how, especially after the trauma of the two world wars, vegetarianism increasingly became associated with pacifist ethics and opposition to violence in all its forms. Within this framework, the protection of animal life was interpreted not simply as compassion toward animals, but as part of a broader critique of war, authoritarianism, and human domination. Anti-vivisection movements, pacifist religious groups, Tolstoyan communities, and nonviolent intellectual networks all contributed to shaping this ethical universe.
The central figure through which these themes converge is Edmondo Marcucci himself. The thesis reconstructs his biography from his upbringing in Umbria to his intellectual formation in Rome, his antifascist stance during the Fascist regime, and his lifelong engagement with pacifism and nonviolence. Particular attention is devoted to his rejection of authoritarian nationalism, his opposition to Fascism, and his collaboration with Aldo Capitini, one of the leading theorists of Italian nonviolence.
A key section of the thesis examines the profound influence of Lev Tolstoy and Tolstoyan culture on Marcucci’s thought. Tolstoy’s ethical rejection of violence, his critique of institutional religion, and his defense of vegetarianism as a moral imperative deeply shaped Marcucci’s worldview. The thesis also highlights the importance of Tatiana Tolstoy, the writer’s daughter, with whom Marcucci maintained a personal relationship and correspondence. Through these connections, Marcucci became part of a broader transnational network linking Italian pacifism to Russian Tolstoyanism and Gandhian nonviolence.
The second chapter focuses on the foundation of the Società Vegetariana Italiana in 1952, established by Marcucci together with Aldo Capitini and Emma Thomas. The thesis reconstructs the intellectual ambitions of the organization and demonstrates how it represented far more than a dietary association. It was conceived as a moral and cultural project aimed at promoting peace, compassion, and ethical reform in postwar Italian society. The work analyzes conferences, publications, congresses, and international connections that linked Italian vegetarianism to wider global movements.
Particular attention is given to Marcucci’s 1953 booklet Che cos’è il vegetarianismo?, which synthesized his conception of vegetarianism as an ethical, spiritual, and nonviolent philosophy of life. The thesis shows how Marcucci sought to integrate concerns about human violence, war, religion, animal suffering, and social transformation into a coherent intellectual framework. Vegetarianism thus became, in his interpretation, a concrete practice of moral resistance against modern systems of violence.
Methodologically, the thesis combines intellectual history, cultural history, and archival research. It successfully reconstructs forgotten debates and networks while also recovering the role of a marginal yet significant intellectual figure whose contributions have often been overshadowed within Italian historiography. The inclusion of a detailed bibliographical appendix and archival repertory further strengthens the scholarly value of the work by mapping both published and unpublished materials related to Marcucci and the history of Italian vegetarianism.
Overall, the thesis demonstrates that the history of vegetarianism in Italy cannot be understood solely through the lenses of nutrition or lifestyle. Instead, it must be interpreted within the broader history of ethical universalism, pacifism, religious dissent, environmental consciousness, and critiques of modernity. By recovering the figure of Edmondo Marcucci, the work sheds light on an important yet neglected intellectual tradition that connected Italian culture to wider international debates on violence, morality, and social transformation in the twentieth century.
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