The centre-left mayor of
Predappio in Emilia Romagna, Giorgio Frassineti, has announced
plans to create a museum dedicated to Fascism in the town famous
for being Benito Mussolini's place of birth and burial.
The museum is to be located in the iconic Casa del Fascio
on Via Matteotti, build in the mid-1930s to accommodate pilgrims
to Predappio and currently in a state of abandon and disrepair.
The project has two aims, Frassinetti told ANSA.
"First, to restore the Casa del Fascio, a building covering
2,400 square metres that has been abandoned for years," he
explained.
"And then to make a contribution to knowledge of a
fundamental piece of our history," continued Frassineti of the
Democratic Party (PD), who is running for re-election on May 25.
"Predappio would become a place for reflection, thereby
removing it from the hands of those who use it improperly," he
concluded.
Predappio is currently visited by several thousand tourists
and pilgrims each year.
Some are sympathisers of the former Fascist dictator while
many are simply trying to come to terms with what the 21 years
of Fascism in Italy were all about.
A cultural and historical itinerary for visitors put
together by the local authorities includes Casa Mussolini, the
house where Mussolini was born, and several buildings -
including the Casa del Fascio - constructed under a major urban
renewal programme between 1925 and 1942 with the aim of
glorifying his place of birth.
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