News Analysis: Italian town to reopen Mussolini's crypt to tourists in controversial move

    Source: Xinhua| 2019-09-03 01:24:32|Editor: Mu Xuequan
    Video PlayerClose

    ROME, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- A controversial plan by a small town in Italy to transform the crypt holding the remains of the country's fascist leader Benito Mussolini into a tourist attraction is casting new light on Mussolini's legacy as the political movement he founded inches back into fashion.

    Mussolini - identified by fascists as Il Duce ("The Leader") -- was born and is buried in the town of Predappio in the Emilia-Romagna region around 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of Bologna, the regional capital.

    The San Cassiano in Pennino cemetery already attracts a trickle of Mussolini admirers and curious tourists, especially around key dates, such as Mussolini's July 29 birthday, the Apr. 28 anniversary of his death, and on Oct. 28, the date of Mussolini's 1922 March on Rome.

    Predappio Mayor Roberto Canali said opening the crypt could improve the economic prospects for the town of around 6,500 residents.

    "It would help bring in tourists," Canali said. "I am not the only one who thinks it would help our small municipality, especially our bars and restaurants. The increase would benefit the surrounding area as well, where some operators are working on wine and food itineraries and other initiatives."

    The crypt had been open to the public on limited terms until around two years ago, and it is still opened occasionally for visitors who make arrangements well in advance. But the new plan, which is backed by Mussolini's relatives, would keep it open on a permanent basis and include promotional schemes.

    Critics of the idea say it would turn the crypt into a place of pilgrimage for those with a nostalgia for Mussolini's oppressive fascist governing style.

    "I have no patience for Mussolini apologists and those who might be attracted to the crypt out of a kind of nostalgia for fascism," said Emilio Ricci, an attorney and the national vice president of Italy's Association of Partisans, a group founded by Italians who fought against fascism during Mussolini's 1922-1943 reign.

    "Mussolini led Italy into World War Two, he murdered his critics, and he destroyed the country in ways we are still recovering from," Ricci told Xinhua.

    Membership in neo-fascist groups is on the rise in Italy, as right-wing political groups claim growing public support.

    Three of Mussolini's descendants are now active in Italian politics: 56-year-old granddaughter Alessandra Mussolini is a former member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Senate, and the European Parliament; another granddaughter, Rachele Mussolini, 44, is a municipal councilor for the City of Rome; and the fascist leader's 52-year-old great-grandson, Caio Giulio Cesare Mussolini, ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the European Parliament this year.

    FAMILY GIVES FORMAL BLESSING

    The family has given its formal blessing to Predappio's plan to open and promote the crypt to tourists.

    "It is good, as long as the dignity of the place can be maintained even with many visitors coming," Caio Giulio Cesare Mussolini told Italian reporters.

    Alessandra Mussolini agreed: "We will soon announce detailed plans," she said. "There is so much pressure to have (the crypt) re-opened and we decided to welcome the idea."

    Ricci said nostalgia for fascism is on the rise at least in part because the generation of Italians who can remember it first-hand is dying off.

    "People who say they admire fascism now are too young to remember it," Ricci said. "It is important that fascism should be studied and understood, but as a way to recognize how it changed the country and to understand its errors. It should not be studied in order to romanticize it."

    TOP STORIES
    EDITOR’S CHOICE
    MOST VIEWED
    EXPLORE XINHUANET
    010020070750000000000000011105091383594221
    主站蜘蛛池模板: 天天躁夜夜踩狠狠踩2022 | 天堂√在线中文最新版8| 久久精品国产99久久99久久久| 深夜a级毛片免费视频| 四虎影视在线影院在线观看| 大胸喷奶水的www的视频网站 | 一级大片免费看| 日韩一区二区三区免费视频 | 亚洲国产精品一区二区三区在线观看| 精品人人妻人人澡人人爽人人| 国产女人乱人伦精品一区二区 | 伊人久久久大香线蕉综合直播| 蜜桃视频在线观看官网| 国产精品久久久久久久久久久搜索 | 亚洲欧美日韩综合一区久久| 精品国精品自拍自在线| 国产午夜精品久久久久免费视 | www.色日本| 国语精品高清在线观看| 一本久久精品一区二区| 日产一区日产片| 久久综合久久久久88| 欧美国产第一页| 亚洲色偷偷综合亚洲av伊人| 精品无码久久久久久久久| 国产乱子伦精品视频| 黄色免费网站网址| 国产精品无码无片在线观看3D| 任你躁国产自任一区二区三区| 黄网站在线播放| 国产精品日韩欧美一区二区三区| 一个人看的www高清直播在线观看 一个人看的www高清频道免费 | 丝袜女警花被捆绑调教| 日韩一区二区三区精品| 亚洲人成伊人成综合网久久久| 浮生陌笔趣阁免费阅读| 免费看的成人yellow视频| 色一情一乱一伦麻豆| 国产在线精品一区二区中文| 亚洲成熟人网站| 国产精品电影一区|