Meet the Italians Who Celebrate Mussolini

Predappio, a town of 6,000 in the province of Forlì-Cesena, has the honor and the burden of being Benito Mussolini’s birthplace and housing his crypt in its cemetery. It is in Predappio, three times a year, that ceremonies are held to mark the anniversaries of Mussolini’s birth and death, as well as the March on Rome. Visitors from across the country come to Predappio to pay their respects at the “Duce’s” tomb, which receives more than 80,000 visits a year. “Duce,” Italian for duke, is one of many affectionate nicknames for Mussolini, who is also referred to as “Uncle Benito” or “Grandad Benito.”

Prime minister of Italy from 1922 to 1943, Mussolini was the founder of the National Fascist Party and a champion of fascism, a political ideology that espouses national unity under autocratic rule and the suppression of opposition. (The English word fascism comes from the Italian “fascio,” which means bundle.) Under Mussolini’s leadership, a strong Italy was held as the country’s ultimate goal; anything that stood in the way of that end was regarded as a threat to be eliminated, often violently. Some political dissidents were attacked and killed during this era. Mussolini, a friend to Adolf Hitler, presided over the abuse of people of color and the persecution of Italian Jews.

Mirco Santarelli, 60, has for years helped to organize Predappio’s commemorative celebrations of Mussolini’s legacy. When OZY interviewed him on Sept. 27, a month before the centenary of the March on Rome and just two days after the right wing’s victory in Italy’s elections, Santarelli said he had received a flood of sign-ups from all over Italy for Predappio’s March on Rome commemoration.

“Mussolini did many positive things in twenty years, helping the country grow like never before. He took an Italy full of swamps, in which 80% to 90% of the population was illiterate, and turned it into one of the most powerful countries in the world,” he told OZY. (All interviews for this article were conducted in Italian.)

For some Italians, said Santarelli, Mussolini is like a lost father figure “who would know how to revive Italy’s fortunes” today. Acknowledging that many refer to Mussolini with terms of endearment, Santarelli said, “Personally, I don’t like to call him Uncle or Grandad Benito, as some do. I’m not a relative of his, so I don’t feel entitled to do that.”

Santarelli said he thought Giorgia Meloni and the right-wing coalition had emerged victorious in national elections because Meloni had focused on issues like energy prices and jobs. By contrast, he said, the left had focused on fascism, gay marriage, and jus soli, the rule that guarantees citizenship to those born within a country’s borders.

“She talks about real problems and addresses the people,” said Santarelli. “She represents hope for Italy.”

At souvenir shop “Predappio Tricolore,” which boasts an array of merchandise and memorabilia commemorating Italy’s fascist period from 1922 to 1943, Loredana, 31, works behind the counter. Asking that her surname not be published, she told OZY she has taken part in celebrations of the birth and death of Mussolini, as well as the March on Rome, since she was fifteen years old. In last month’s elections she voted for Meloni, noting that she had previously supported right-wing politician Matteo Salvini and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

“All three know that too many immigrants have entered the country and stolen jobs from Italians,” she said. On the day she spoke with OZY, she wore a gray sweatshirt with Italian lettering that said, “I never had comrades, not even at school” — a play on the association of the word “comrade” with communist sympathizers.

Noting that many customers who visit the souvenir shop proclaim their affection for Mussolini, she said that some customers hold a stronger affection for Hitler, “because Mussolini was initially a socialist,” she explained.

“My brother also prefers Hitler because he really got rid of all the foreigners. In Italy there should be only Italians,” she said. Loredana’s brother may not be an anomaly; last month, the Brothers of Italy party suspended a member and election candidate from the Sicilian province of Agrigento after it was revealed that, in a 2014 Facebook post, he had praised Hitler as “a great statesman.” (He later apologized for the post.)

Loredana said that the souvenir shop’s windows had been vandalized recently, and speculated that this was the work of immigrants. She said that critics have advocated for closing down the shop entirely.

Predappio’s mayor is Roberto Canali, 58, who has served in the role since 2019. He is affiliated with the center-right party, and is the first center-right leader to be elected in the town since 1945.

Canali said that, contrary to what the souvenir shops might indicate, most Predappio residents are not focused on commemorating the March on Rome. He called fascism “a phenomenon that is dead and buried.”

But much of the town works in the tourism industry, catering to the visitors who come to pay homage to Mussolini’s legacy.

These days, said Canali, many nostalgics idealize fascism. “Those who would like Mussolini back today are actually dazzled by some of his initiatives, even the laudable ones, but ignore other omitted or forgotten events,” he told OZY.

Francesco Minutillo, 42, is president of the “Memoria Predappio” foundation, which aims to organize cultural and artistic events relating to Italy’s fascist period. Regarding Meloni’s victory, Minutillo said, “I hope she does something right-wing.”

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Andrea Lombini, 62, is a chef and owner of the restaurant “Da Loro.” He said that, for Predappio locals, the centenary of the March on Rome is not a major event in itself, but it’s important for tourism. He said he would not personally attend the commemorative ceremony because he’ll be working at his restaurant, noting that “the whole town relies on this type of tourism.”

According to Lombini, those who fondly remember the fascist era are largely those who did not personally experience it.

“As the old people — those who fought in the war — pass away, it seems to me that the young people of Predappio tend to move politically to the right,” he told OZY, noting that 36% of the town’s voters cast ballots for the right-wing Brothers of Italy party in the Sept. 25 elections — a sizable share that may have surprised some residents in a community that, up until 2019, had reliably voted for left-wing leadership since World War II.

Lombini does not believe that the new prime minister will bring major changes to Italy, noting that binding international agreements, such as membership in the European Union, prevent the national government from taking any sharp turns.

Said Lombini, “Returning to the fascist era is now an impossible dream because, with the laws and agreements that exist today, not even an almighty God could do it. Not even Putin.”

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