Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876–1944) was an Italian poet, editor, and art theorist, born in Alexandria, Egypt, and later active in Italy. He founded the Futurist movement, publishing its seminal manifesto in 1909. Early in his career, between 1907 and 1908, he was associated with the Symbolist literary community Abbaye de Créteil.
Marinetti authored the Manifesto of Futurism in 1909, a revolutionary document advocating for the destruction of past traditions, museums, and libraries. He championed a dynamic art that glorified speed, machine technology, and war, which he termed "the world's only hygiene." His theoretical writings, including Les mots en liberté futuristes (1919), promoted a new aesthetic of aggression and audacity.
Marinetti's ideology extended to politics; he co-authored the Fascist Manifesto in 1919 and remained a collaborator and ideologue of the Fascist regime until his death. He volunteered in World War I and later served as president of the Italian Writers' Union.
