The mood was jubilant at Italy's far-right Atreju festival. But has Meloni's success peaked? | Jamie Mackay

"At first glance, it looked like a normal Christmas market. The stands, however, revealed a different reality. Among the nativity displays and kitsch decorations were adverts for nationalist newspapers and something called patriot radio. On a wall near the kids' play area, a mural depicted an unlikely cast of characters, tracing a lineage from the fascist poet Gabriele D'Annunzio to the late American Maga influencer Charlie Kirk."

"This was the setup I witnessed at this year's Atreju, Italy's biggest rightwing festival, which has been running since 1998 as an annual celebration of patriotism and nationalism. During the early editions, proud neo-fascists, including black-hooded thugs from street movements such as CasaPound and Forza Nuova, made up a visible portion of the attenders. At this year's event, however, the Celtic crosses and odal rune tattoos were tucked under well-ironed shirts."

"Atreju is not a party conference. It's a community fair, an old-fashioned outdoor kermesse, or fair, that is as much about myth-building as it is about politics. Fantasy fans may clock this from its name: bizarrely, Atreju (Atreyu in English) is the main character in The Neverending Story. First published, in German, in 1979, it is a work that Giorgia Meloni and her circle obsessed over while attending neo-fascist hobbit camps in the 1990s,"

Atreju is Italy's biggest rightwing festival, running annually since 1998 as a celebration of patriotism and nationalism. The event mixes family-friendly fair attractions, seasonal markets and cultural stalls with nationalist media and political motifs. Early editions included visible neo-fascist street movements such as CasaPound and Forza Nuova, while recent gatherings feature a broader crowd of students, influencers, campaigners and passersby. Organisers employ myth-building and fantasy references, including the name Atreju and The Neverending Story, to soften and normalize hard-right ideas. Giorgia Meloni and her circle have historical ties to the festival and to the use of fantasy culture within far-right networks.

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