Six years ago, historian Giulia Albanese asked herself a question. Whatwhat’s left inside Italy fascist memorial legacy? “As I thought about this historical period, I was wondering how to move forward. Many Italians live by undisputed fascist architectureMany do not even know that what they see in their streets and cities is connected with fascism,” he explains to this newspaper. Starting from there, Albanese shared the idea of mapping this legacy with the Instituto Nazionale Parri, a center in Milan that preserves documents related to the Italian resistance fighting against the fascist dictatorship. The offer was appreciated. And in 2018, work began on an unprecedented project.
As a result, more than one 1,400 monuments, monoliths, statues and street signstogether reliefs and plaques in public buildings in honor of fascism they were not removed after the fall of this regime (1922-1945) and urban landscape herd the entire Italian peninsula from south to north. Albanese was able to do it thanks to this strange X-ray. cooperation of a team It consists of dozens of researchers from 63 institutes, most of which are in the Parri Institute network. To them helped find, identify and sort the parts.
Later, all the material was converted into a map of Italy and published on a webpage titled. I am the luoghi of fascism (Places of Fascism) are still being updated. The reason for this is the investigation is not over, as was recently disclosed to Reuters agency, public history researcher and website administrator Igor Pizzirusso. “It’s still a partial census. We know it’s not complete this is work in progress”, explained Pizzirusso.
Civil war
Despite this, the project has uncovered some lesser-known aspects. For example, due to the higher degree of density civil war in the north from Italy, many fascist architectures were removed from this area. After the liberation of Italy, the country in the south there are still many ways to pay homage Italian monarchyCollaborating with Benito Mussolini’s fascism.
Similarly, the researchers discovered that: in many towns and medium-sized cities—more than big cities— the presence of this architecture more often. “This is the case of a statue of Michele Bianchi (one of the first secretaries of the Fascist Party) in the town of Belmonte Calabro in Calabria and a relief of Mussolini at Foggia in Apulia,” Albanese says. Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Padua.
An exception is Rome. In the Italian capital, in addition to the large number of monumental structures erected by Mussolini attempt to demonstrate the power and greatness of his regimeThere are also many other remnants of the dictatorship. The most famous: obelisk 36 meters high and 300 tons, located in front of Foro Italico in the Italian capital where the inscription appears Mussolini Doge.
after fascism
Another situation is that of some. signs placed after the end of fascismespecially from the 1990s, such as goals scored in honor of Giorgio Almirante, neo-fascist party leader Italian Social Movement and died in 1988. Even a monument paying homage to Rodolfo Graziani is highly controversial. commander of the colonial wars Ethiopia, which was founded in 2012 in the town of Affile, where approximately 1,500 people live, east of Rome, which Mussolini carried out in Libya and Ethiopia.
Although they also discovered virtuous caseshighlights the research. “In Bolzano, next to A relief of Mussolini on horseback, placed an installation that invites you to take a distance what the regime represents. Personally, I think it’s a smart way to deal with this legacy,” said Albanese, adding that his main mission is, in any case, different. “Our Goal make the invisible visible” he claims.
The truth is that Italy is still today a difficult relationship with fascisma dark period from north to south that still fuels open wounds and grudges. a country disturbed by its past. And this year was even worse, considering that the seizure of power by Giorgia Meloni, the most right-wing government in the history of the Italian republic, coincided with the 100th anniversary of the March on Rome, the coup uprising led by Mussolini. command of this European country.