Speech by D'Annunzio on 20th September 1919 at the city of Fiume (now in Croatia and, since the end of World War II, known as Rijeka). The Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863-1938), entered the city on 12 September 1919 and began a 15-month period of occupation. A year later after failure of negotiations with the Italian government, D'Annunzio proclaimed the Italian Regency of Carnaro. The Free State of Fiume was an independent free state which existed between 1920 and 1924 following the signing of the Treaty of Rapallo. The constitution made "music" the fundamental principle of the state and was corporatist in nature. Some of the ideas and aesthetics influenced Italian fascism and the style of Benito Mussolini.