Italian version

Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola, better known as Julius Evola, was born in Rome in 1898 into a Sicilian Catholic family of noble origins. In his youth, he attended the Leonardo da Vinci Technical Institute in Rome but did not complete his studies. Upon his admission, he regarded academic qualifications as bourgeois and intolerable. Instead, he was drawn to thinkers such as Nietzsche, Michelstaedter 1, and Weininger 2, spending entire days in the library. During this time, he also engaged with the cultural initiatives of Papini 3, as well as the futurism of Marinetti and the Dadaism of Tzara 4.

In 1917, he served as an artillery officer in the First World War near Asiago, although he was not involved in any significant military actions. Following the war, he returned to Rome, where he struggled for many years with deep discontentment towards everyday life. He began using drugs, and by the age of 23, much like Michelstaedter and Weininger, he contemplated taking his own life.

Fortunately for him, an encounter with an early Buddhist text, the Majjhima Nikāya 5, sparked an inner transformation that helped him overcome his crisis. Between 1921 and 1922, he concluded his artistic and poetic endeavours and began a philosophical period that included an interest in the suprarational. In 1924, he published two volumes titled “Teoria e Fenomenologia dell’Individuo Assoluto” (Theory and Phenomenology of the Absolute Individual), which explore the relationship between the Ego and the world of phenomena in an effort to transcend their dualism.

In 1926, he released “L’Uomo come Potenza” (Man as Potency), another examination of dualism through the lens of tantric doctrine. During this time and in the years that followed, Evola became involved in esoteric circles in the capital, forming connections with Kremmerzians 6, theosophists, and anthroposophists. From 1927 to 1929, he helped establish the “Gruppo di Ur” (Ur Group), which focused on techniques for experimenting with inner and subtle states. The booklets that accompanied these experiences were later published in three volumes titled “Introduzione alla Magia quale Scienza dell’Io” (Introduction to Magic as the Science of the Self).

His relationship with Fascism has been controversial from the start. Between 1924 and 1925, he began collaborating with several openly anti-Fascist newspapers that were willing to publish his contributions. In 1928, he released “Imperialismo Pagano” (Pagan Imperialism), a work he later considered to be extremist and immature. In this work, he criticised Christianity and urged Fascism to break away from Catholic leadership. During this time, he also corresponded with Benedetto Croce 7 and Giovanni Gentile 8.

In 1930, after a period of philosophical exploration, he, along with Emilio Servadio 9 and others, founded the publishing house “La Torre” (The Tower). This platform was intended to feature articles on spiritual Tradition and to provide critical commentary against contemporary civilisation. The authorities of the fascist regime were displeased with his uncompromising stance and his refusal to conform to political norms. In an editorial titled “L’Arco e la Clava” (The Bow and the Club), he criticised the most unattractive aspects of certain representatives of fascist ideology. That led him to require a bodyguard and, ultimately, to suspend publication of the magazine.

After these experiences, Evola realised he needed to adapt to continue his work. He began collaborating with the monthly publication “La Vita Italiana” (The Italian Life), edited by Giovanni Preziosi 10, as well as the newspaper “Il Regime Fascista” (The Fascist Regime), edited by Roberto Farinacci 11. In partnership with other authors, including René Guénon, he published articles promoting an aristocratic, traditional, and anti-modern worldview. Evola criticised the bourgeois rhetoric of Fascism and rejected the notion of biological racism.

In 1931, Evola published “La Tradizione Ermetica” (The Hermetic Tradition), which focused on alchemy. In 1932, he published “Maschera e Volto dello Spiritualismo Contemporaneo” (The Mask and Face of Contemporary Spiritualism), a work aimed at uncovering pseudo-initiatory currents. His most significant publication, “Rivolta Contro il Mondo Moderno” (Revolt Against the Modern World), was printed in 1934. This book offers a comprehensive exploration of historical cycles, highlighting the four eras of humanity as understood in both Eastern and Western traditions. In 1937, Evola wrote “Il Mistero del Gral” (The Mystery of the Grail).

In 1937 and 1941, in response to advocates of Nazi-style racism, he wrote “Il Mito del Sangue” (The Myth of the Blood) and “Sintesi di Dottrina della Razza” (Synthesis of the Doctrine of Race), in which he exposed the shortcomings of the eugenics movement. Declassified documents from the Ahnenerbe, the ideological arm of the SS, reveal that they opposed his views. During this time, he travelled to Germany several times, giving numerous lectures.

In 1943, he joined the Italian Social Republic (the Salò Republic), a German puppet state established during the final phase of World War II, although he did not support its objectives. That same year, he published “La Dottrina del Risveglio” (The Doctrine of Awakening), which is an essay on Buddhist asceticism. In 1945, while walking in Vienna, he was injured by an explosion from an aerial bombardment, resulting in the loss of the use of his legs. In 1948, thanks to the efforts of the International Red Cross, he returned to Italy, where he spent five years in a hospital.

In 1953, he published “Gli Uomini e le Rovine” (Men among the Ruins), in which he outlines the profile of a state that values the non-egalitarian concept of an individual who adheres to his natural dignity. In 1958, he wrote “Metafisica del Sesso” (Metaphysics of Sex), emphasising the magical power of sexuality. In 1961, with “Cavalcare la Tigre” (Ride the Tiger), he discusses the steps needed to achieve mastery over oneself in a world stripped of values.

In the years that followed, he continued writing for various newspapers, translating books, and welcoming friends and curious visitors. Unfortunately, his health began to decline after two acute heart failures in 1968 and 1970. He passed away on June 11, 1974, at his worktable, having reclined his head. He was cremated, and a portion of his ashes was scattered on Monte Rosa.

Bibliography in English

  • A Handbook for Right-Wing Youth
  • A Traditionalist Confronts Fascism
  • Eros and the Mysteries of Love
  • Fascism viewed from the Right
  • Guidelines for Racial Education
  • Introduction to Magic (with the Ur Group)
  • Meditations on the Peaks
  • Men Among the Ruins
  • Metaphysics of Power
  • Metaphysics of War
  • Pagan Imperialism
  • Revolt Against the Modern World
  • Ride the Tiger
  • The Bow and the Club
  • The Doctrine of Awakening
  • The Fall of Spirituality
  • The Hermetic Tradition
  • The Mystery of the Grail
  • The path of Cinnabar (Autobiography)
  • The Yoga of Power
  1. Carlo Raimondo Michelstaedter (1887-1910) was an Italian philosopher, artist, and writer. Despite his short life, he was a prolific author, producing many works, primarily unfinished. His thesis, published under the title “La Persuasione e la Rettorica” (Persuasion and Rhetoric), critiques the limitations of the bourgeois worldview. Tragically, he took his own life at the age of 23. ↩︎
  2. Otto Weininger (1880-1903) was an Austrian thinker who lived during the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He is best known for his book “Geschlecht und Charakter” (Sex and Character), in which he argued that individuals possess a mixed male-female nature. In this work, he also criticised the materialistic tendencies prevalent in the modern era. Tragically, Weininger also took his own life at the young age of 23. ↩︎
  3. Giovanni Papini (1881-1956) was an Italian journalist, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was involved in avant-garde movements such as Futurism and post-decadence, an aesthetic ideology focused on excess and artificiality. In 1913, he founded the literary magazine Lacerba, which primarily published Futurist manifestos. ↩︎
  4. Tristan Tzara (1893-1963), originally named Samuel Rosenstock, was a Franco-Romanian avant-garde essayist, artist, and poet. He is best known as one of the founders of the Dadaist movement, which rejected the aesthetics of capitalist society. Instead, it embraced activities and artworks that expressed irrationality, nonsense, and anti-bourgeois protest. ↩︎
  5. The Majjhima Nikāya, or Middle-length Discourses, is a part of the Buddha’s teachings known as the Sutta Pitaka. ↩︎
  6. Giuliano Kremmerz (1861-1930), originally named Ciro Formisano, was an Italian hermeticist and thaumaturge. He is best known for founding the Miriam Magical Therapeutic Brotherhood, which remains active today in both ritual and doctrinal aspects. ↩︎
  7. Benedetto Croce (1866-1952) was an Italian idealist, historian, and political philosopher, known for his numerous works on a wide range of subjects. He served as the Minister of Education in the government of Giovanni Giolitti from 1920 to 1921. ↩︎
  8. Giovanni Gentile (1875-1944) was an Italian neo-Hegelian philosopher known for promoting actualism, a form of idealism that asserts that the only reality is thought existing within being. He served as the Minister of Education from 1922 to 1924 during Benito Mussolini’s government. In 1943, Gentile became involved with the Republic of Salò. He was killed in 1944 in an ambush set by anti-fascist partisans. ↩︎
  9. Emilio Servadio (1904-1995) was an Italian psychoanalyst, esotericist, and journalist, recognised as one of the founders of Italian psychoanalysis. He collaborated with the Treccani Encyclopaedia and authored an innovative study that aimed to reinterpret telepathic phenomena within the context of the relationship between patient and therapist. ↩︎
  10. Giovanni Preziosi (1881-1945) was an Italian politician, minister, publicist, and translator, known for his fervent anti-Semitic views. He served as a missionary priest for two years but was expelled from that role. Following his expulsion, he joined the Fascist movement, where he held significant positions, despite his radical views often leading to conflicts with Fascist leaders. Preziosi ultimately took his own life after escaping an ambush by partisans. ↩︎
  11. Roberto Farinacci (1892-1945) was an Italian political leader in the National Fascist Party. In 1925, he was appointed party secretary by Mussolini, making him the second-most-important figure in the regime. On the eve of the Second World War, he sought support from Nazi Germany and persuaded Mussolini to enter the war alongside the Axis powers. In 1945, he was executed by partisans. ↩︎