Six years ago, a historian named Giulia Albanese asked a provocative question: what remains of Italy’s fascist memorial legacy in the public spaces people move through every day? In contemplating how society should move forward, Albanese noted that many Italians live among undisputed fascist architecture and may not even realize that what they see on streets and in cities is tied to that era. With that realization, she proposed a project to map this legacy in collaboration with the Instituto Nazionale Parri, a Milan-based center dedicated to preserving documents about the Italian resistance against the fascist dictatorship. The offer found strong support, and in 2018 a groundbreaking project began.
As a result, more than 1,400 monuments, monoliths, statues, and street signs, along with reliefs and plaques in public buildings honoring fascism, were not removed after the regime fell in the period 1922 to 1945. These elements occupy the urban landscape from the south to the north of the Italian peninsula. Albanese coordinated this effort with a team of dozens of researchers drawn from 63 institutes, many of which are part of the Parri Institute network. Their work involved locating, identifying, and cataloging these pieces.
Ultimately, the collected material was transformed into a nationwide map titled Places of Fascism. The project continues to grow, with the map live on a dedicated webpage and periodically updated. The ongoing investigation was described as a work in progress by Igor Pizzirusso, a public history researcher and the site administrator, who explained that the census is far from complete and will keep evolving as new material comes to light (Reuters).
Civil war
Even with the breadth of what has been uncovered, certain findings stand out for their surprising nuance. The northern regions of Italy experienced a higher density of civil war activity, and as a result, many fascist structures in that area were removed after the war. In contrast, the southern parts of the country retained more of these monuments and signs commemorating a monarchic past alongside the legacy of Mussolini’s regime.
In smaller towns and mid-sized cities rather than in the major urban centers, the architectural footprint of fascism appears more frequently. Examples cited include a statue of Michele Bianchi, a senior member of the Fascist Party, in Belmonte Calabro in Calabria, and a Mussolini relief in Foggia, Apulia. These cases help illustrate how the landscape reflects regional histories and the various postwar memory practices that have taken root across the country.
Rome presents a different picture. While the capital hosts a substantial collection of monumental structures erected to demonstrate the regime’s power, it also preserves many other remnants of the dictatorship. A prominent landmark is the 36-meter-tall obelisk near Foro Italico, which bears an inscription linking Mussolini to the city’s past.
After fascism
The postwar period also brought controversial signs placed after the end of fascism, especially from the 1990s onward. Some commemorations honored figures like Giorgio Almirante, a leader of the Italian Social Movement, who died in 1988. A monument honoring Rodolfo Graziani, a commander associated with colonial wars in Ethiopia, Libya, and beyond, has sparked intense debates. The memorials reveal a tension between remembrance and the ongoing reexamination of a difficult past.
Yet there are notable exceptions that the researchers highlight. In Bolzano, for instance, a relief of Mussolini on horseback sits beside an installation inviting visitors to reflect on what the regime represented. Albanese says this approach is a thoughtful way to address the legacy, adding that the overarching mission is to render the invisible visible. The work aims to illuminate, educate, and foster dialogue about a painful chapter in the nation’s history, rather than to celebrate it.
Italy continues to navigate a precarious relationship with its fascist era. The national memory remains unsettled, marked by wounds and lingering grievances that span from north to south. The year also carried political tension, with Giorgia Meloni leading the government during the centennial of the March on Rome, a milestone that underscored the country’s ongoing struggle to reconcile with its past while shaping its future.