Between September 1919 and Christmas 1920, the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio was the conqueror then the Comandante of the city of Fiume, now Rijeka, in Croatia. “La materia non conta”, or “Matter doesn’t count” was one of his mottos to emphasize the superiority of his ideal vision over the pettiness of material concerns.
But unlike his previous works, this time his poetic fever went to tragically material consequences. Voices of these past days, one of a young enthusiastic Italian legionary, and one of a young mournful Croatian girl come back to haunt the city of today. How can the utopian dream of some people be the sorrow of others? What is it like to be caught in someone else's dream?