The Christian Science Monitor

As ban on 'Il Duce' trinkets looms, Mussolini's hometown eyes educational future

The items on display are as varied as they are sinister – Mussolini busts, Mussolini keyrings, statues of “Il Duce” on a rearing stallion, and Mussolini propaganda posters. There are even Mussolini-themed babies’ bibs and pasta in the shape of Mussolini’s helmeted head.

The bizarre objects are crammed into a shop on the main street of Predappio, a town in northern Italy where Benito Mussolini was born in 1883.

In the past few decades it has become a place of pilgrimage for Italy’s unrepentant neo-Fascists: unabashed admirers of a man who led Italy into disastrous colonial adventures and an alliance with

Telling Italians what really happened'History should not be hidden away'

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Christian Science Monitor

The Christian Science Monitor2 min readPolitical Ideologies
Civic Joy In South Africa’s Vote
Thirty years after South Africa ended its violent system of racial segregation called apartheid through peaceful elections, it may be poised for another watershed moment: a transition from one-party rule to pluralism and power-sharing. For the first
The Christian Science Monitor4 min readPolitical Ideologies
Young Poles Led A Political Revolution. Now They Need To Learn Patience.
Life in Poland is finally moving in the right direction, says Łukasz Dryżałowski. The Warsaw-based engineer-turned-filmmaker helped rally friends and strategize how and where to vote six months ago, in an election that saw 69% of Poles under 30 turn
The Christian Science Monitor5 min readInternational Relations
Historic Israeli Desire To ‘Go It Alone’ Is Tested By Gaza And Iran
As the world grows increasingly critical of the war in Gaza and pressure builds for a permanent cease-fire, Israel finds itself torn between two inclinations: cooperate with the international community that rallied to its side after Hamas’ attack in

Related Books & Audiobooks