The influence of the Free Speech Movement and the Provobeweging on the guidelines of the Movimento Mondo Beat
at its origins
The merger of Onda Verde with Mondo Beat has put wings to the magazine.
It must be understood that the youths of Mondo Beat, fleeing from family and school, hitchhiking from a city to another, often in
jail because of the repression of the system, have written articles for the magazine very seldom. Most of the articles were
written by students, who spent time in activities of revolt only on Sundays, mainly by writing articles. Those students
often have written nonsense, influenced by a relentless advertising on the American Beat Generation, a generation older than our,
which had very little to deal with the revolt of the youth in Italy, where the police kicked and broke the ribs of the youths of
Mondo Beat, because they were committed to the affirmation of civil rights and sexual liberation of the mass, something that
the Vatican wanted to suffocate at any price. Therefore, this relentless advertising on the American Beat Generation, mostly on
Allen Ginsberg, that was directed by the CIA agent Fernanda Pivano, aimed at confusing Italian provincials, in order to avoid
that they could participate in the revolution triggered by Mondo Beat. Many of these students, who have written articles for
Mondo Beat, as Renzo Freschi, were too naive to understand this situation, so, they wrote nonsense. But finally, thanks to the
merger of Mondo Beat with Onda Verde, articles written by Marco Maria Sigiani and Antonio Pilati have brought the wind of
counter-information in the pages of the magazine Mondo Beat. They wrote on Dutch provos and on the events at the University of
Berkeley and they wrote on the conditions of the Italian school. Furthermore, Gianfranco Sanguinetti and Marco Maria Sigiani were
very original intellectuals, they were precursors of the Situationists, of which they would later become two celebrated
international representatives. In fact, the contribution of Onda Verde to the magazine Mondo Beat was precious, given that the
magazine took root in the schools of Milan mainly thanks to it.
"Mondo Beat/Onda Verde - Numero Unico" (Issue 2) - December 30, 1966 - edition 5,200 copies
Note:
The first two pages of this issue were printed by letterpress, the others were mimeographed.
Contributors - Comments on the articles:
page 01-
The cover was conceived by Melchiorre Paolo Gerbino. The text reads 'Vittorio Di Russo jailed in San Vittore'.
page 02-
"Paolo", who signs the editorial, is Melchiorre Paolo Gerbino. I wanted to dedicate the cover and the
editorial to Vittorio Di Russo, to remind his condition;
"Why these cannons?" (POURQUOI CES CANNONS?) by Gianni Milano.
page 03-
"If the choice has been castrated" (LE SCELTE CASTRATE) (1) by "Agor" (Antonio Pilati). An essay on the
illusion of making choices, in a system where, in reality, one cannot. This is one of the most brilliant articles published in
the magazine Mondo Beat.
page 04-
"If the choice has been castrated", (LE SCELTE CASTRATE) (2) by "Agor" (Antonio Pilati);
"Letter to the Party" (LETTERA AL PARTITO) by Antonio Mariani, who distanced himself from all political parties.
Antonio Mariani was the leading character of a group of beats in the city of Monza.
page 05-
"Letter of resignation" (LETTERA DI DIMISSIONI) by Lorenzo, who controversially resigned from the company where he
worked.
page 06-
"Beatniks today" (I BEATNIKS OGGI) (1) by Renzo (Renzo Freschi);
page 07-
"Beatniks today" (I BEATNIKS OGGI) (2) by Renzo (Renzo Freschi);
"Think hard about it, Giacomino" (PENSACI BENE, GIACOMINO) and "The Mondo Beat of the children" (IL MONDO
BEAT DEI PICCOLI) by Melchiorre Gerbino. The two writings were a mockery of the publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli and the CIA
agent Fernanda Pivano, respectively.
page 08-
Poems by Tella (Tella Ferrari) and Anita. Tella Ferrari, a Jewish girl of 16, made the precious work of typewriting the
mimeograph matrices of this second issue of the magazine.
page 09-
"God exists/God does not exist" (DIO ESISTE/DIO NON ESISTE) by "G.F.S." (Gianfranco Sanguinetti). The
only writing by Sanguinetti published in the magazine Mondo Beat;
"Introduction to Buddhism" (INTRODUZIONE AL BUDDISMO) (1) by Gennaro De Miranda.
page 10-
"Introduction to Buddhism" (INTRODUZIONE AL BUDDISMO) (2) by Gennaro De Miranda. This article was in a pocket of
Gennaro De Miranda, when he was found dead.
page 11-
"For a social grammar of sex" (PER UNA GRAMMATICA SOCIALE DEL SESSO) (1) by Marco Maria Sigiani. A brilliant essay
on a taboo subject.
page 12-
"For a social grammar of sex" (PER UNA GRAMMATICA SOCIALE DEL SESSO) (2) by Marco Maria Sigiani, who has greatly
contributed to give an original line to the magazine Mondo Beat.
page 13-
Andrea Valcarenghi on the merger between Mondo Beat, Onda Verde, Provos, which took place at his home.
page 14-
The logo "Onda Verde" was created by Enea, who previously had created that of Mondo Beat. The text was written by
Andrea Valcarenghi.
Marco Maria Sigiani, Andrea Valcarenghi, Gianfranco Sanguinetti, Antonio Pilati, the founders of "Onda Verde"
