La Duce Vita

October 31, 2012 7:32 AM

An interactive web documentary (mostly in Italian with French subtitles) takes a look into Predappio - the city where Mussolini was born and where neofascists assemble yearly to commemorate the anniversary of the March on Rome and to pray over the Duce's tomb. Ironically, the town has been left wing ever since the end of the war and the current mayor, Giorgio Frassinetti, is exasperated :"We have to work on the image of the town, on the prejudices against it... but these marching imbeciles are not helping!". Frassinetti participated in the Difficult Heritage conference, part of Contemporary History Days in Braunau am Inn, Hitler's birthplace, and reflected on how easier it is to attempt to recover a town's honor when there is no dead body to be worshipped but his performance and town strategy is still being criticized.
posted by Marauding Ennui (1 comment total)

Ironically, the town has been left wing ever since the end of the war

Fascism was the reaction to Bolshevism so things have only come back to where they started in that town.

You know, considering that fascism was invented in Italy, by Italians, and was a successful export for decades having been licensed to the Spaniards until 1975, you'd think the Italians would be more proud of it. Obviously some of them still are.
posted by three blind mice at 8:36 AM on October 31, 2012