ABSTRACT
Elio Vittorini shaped Il Politecnico around his own political and artistic interests. Vittorini's editorial which appeared on the front page under the heading 'Una nuova cultura' can be read as a brief manifesto of Il Politecnico. Vittorini criticised contemporary intellectuals for having permitted the degeneration of moral and ethical values which resulted in the destruction of a world war. And if Il Politecnico had been an attempt to create a magazine capable of attracting a readership of neophytes, I Gettoni tried to achieve a similar objective through its relatively low price. Vittorini's new project was again backed by Einaudi. Vittorini wanted Il Menabo to represent a forum for new voices and new approaches to contemporary literature. The short editorial of the first issue was quite explicit in stating the role which Il Menabo intended to play. The short editorial ended with a criticism of the limitations of foreign avant-garde movements such as the nouveau roman in France.
