A man walks past a bas-relief depicting fascist leader Benito Mussolini at the EUR neighborhood known for its fascist architecture in Rome, Italy, on October 19, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
ROME 鈥�听One hundred years after Benito Mussolini grabbed power in Rome, his photograph still hangs in the prime minister鈥檚 official residence, striking evidence that Italy has yet to shake off its fascist legacy.
While Germany systematically scrubbed clean any symbols of Adolf Hitler鈥檚 Nazi regime after World War Two, Italians took a much less rigorous approach to remove traces of their dictator鈥檚 21-year rule.
Monuments glorifying Mussolini鈥檚 command dot Rome, emblems of his fascist party adorn pot-hole covers, and carvings of his square-jawed troops embellish public spaces.
鈥淕ermany has a past that can never pass. They can never forget the Holocaust or Hitler,鈥� said British historian Paul Corner, who last month published a book, 鈥淢ussolini in Myth and Memory鈥�, that delves into Italy鈥檚 persistent nostalgia for fascism.
鈥淚taly has a past that just doesn鈥檛 present a problem. No-one is asking that these monuments to fascism be destroyed. They just blend in,鈥� he told Reuters.
The country this week marks 100 years since Mussolini鈥檚 blackshirt supporters marched on Rome to seize power. To avoid bloodshed, the king simply handed him government.
The anniversary has coincided with the swearing in of Italy鈥檚 most right-wing administration since World War Two, led by Giorgia Meloni, whose own party, the Brothers of Italy, has post-fascist roots.
Meloni praised Mussolini in her youth but has since changed her stance, telling parliament on Tuesday that she had 鈥渘ever felt any sympathy for fascism鈥� and denouncing the racist, anti-Jewish laws of 1938 as 鈥渢he lowest point of Italian history.鈥�
鈥楢 forgiving city鈥�
Unlike Germany鈥檚 devastated capital Berlin, Rome and its fascist ornaments emerged relatively unscathed from World War Two.
When Allied forces took charge in 1944, many photographs and symbols glorifying 鈥淚l Duce鈥� were removed. But some larger monuments were left untouched.
They include an imposing obelisk outside Rome鈥檚 Olympic stadium that bears his name, and a bas-relief of Mussolini in the modernist Eur district that the fascists built to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their march.
A view of the 鈥淧alazzo della Civilta Italiana鈥� also known as 鈥淪quare Colosseum鈥� on which words of fascist leader Benito Mussolini are carved at the EUR neighborhood known for its fascist architecture in Rome, Italy, on October 19, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Tens of thousands of Romans worked for the fascist administration and took little or no part in the resistance. After the war, they saw no need to rub out their past.
鈥淩ome is a forgiving city,鈥� said Aldo Cazzullo, whose book 鈥淢ussolini, the Gang Leader,鈥� published in August, shines a light on the crimes of fascism, which he argues have been sanitized, downplayed or simply forgotten over the decades.
鈥淲e Italians have a false, distorted idea of Mussolini. We have absolved ourselves of any guilt over fascism. We have told ourselves a fictional story of what happened,鈥� he told Reuters.
British historian Corner estimates that as many as 500,000 Italians died as a result of Mussolini鈥檚 catastrophic decision to fight alongside Hitler in World War Two 鈥� including some 7,700 Italian Jews sent to Nazi death camps.
鈥淎fter the war, Italy presented itself as an innocent victim of fascism, but dictatorship cannot survive for 20 years without the consensus and complicity of its people,鈥� Corner said.
While there are small memorials around Rome for some of fascism鈥檚 victims, there are none for those who killed by Italy鈥檚 disastrous efforts to carve out a new empire, including hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians.
Street names still commemorate those colonial exploits, including Via Amba Aradam, which marks a 1936 battle when fascist troops illegally bombarded Ethiopian soldiers with mustard gas, murdering thousands.
In recent years, demonstrators in Britain have pulled down symbols of their country鈥檚 racist colonial past, while in the United States, many municipalities removed Confederate monuments, denouncing them as expressions of white supremacy.
No such historical revision is expected in Italy.
鈥淭he anti-fascists have lost the cultural battle,鈥� said Cazzullo, arguing that it is viewed almost exclusively as a left-wing cause, making it unattractive to many.
Going against the grain, Italy鈥檚 Industry Minister this month took down a photograph of Mussolini from an exhibition following complaints, but newly-elected Senate speaker Ignazio La Russa criticized the decision.
He said a photo of Mussolini was also hanging in the Defense Ministry.
鈥淎re we going to join the cancel culture, too?鈥� asked La Russa, a veteran right-winger who collects fascist memorabilia.
鈥淚f a photo has been hanging somewhere for years, I don鈥檛 understand why it has to go now. What has changed with regards to last year?鈥�
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