Thousands commemorate Benito Mussolini

PREDAPPIO (AP):

Several thousand black-clad fascist sympathisers chanted and sang in praise of Benito Mussolini as they marched to the slain Italian dictator’s crypt on Sunday, 100 years after Mussolini entered Rome and completed a bloodless coup that gave rise to two decades of fascist rule.

The crowd of some 2,000 to 4,000 marchers, many sporting fascist symbols and singing hymns from Italy’s colonial era, was more numerous than in the recent past, as the fascist nostalgics celebrated the centenary of the March on Rome. On October 28, 1922, black-shirted fascists entered the Italian capital, launching a putsch that culminated two days later when Italy’s king handed Mussolini the mandate to start a new government.

The crowd in Predappio, Mussolini’s birth and final resting place in the northern Emilia-Romagna region, also was apparently emboldened by the fact that a party with neo-fascist roots is heading an Italian government for the first time since World War II.

Organisers warned participants, who arrived from as far away as Rome, Belgium and the United States, not to flash the Roman salute used by the fascists, or they would risk prosecution. Still, some couldn’t resist as the crowd stopped outside of the cemetery where Mussolini is laid to rest for prayers and greetings from Mussolini’s great-granddaughter, Orsola.

“After 100 years, we are still here to pay homage to the man this this state wanted, and who we will never stop admiring,” Orsola Mussolini said to cheers.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

She listed her great-grandfather’s accomplishments, citing an infrastructure boom that built schools, hospitals and public buildings; reclaimed malaria-infested swamps for cities; and the extension of a pension system to nongovernment workers. She was joined by her sister Vittoria, who led the crowd in a prayer.

The crowd gave a final shout of “Duce, Duce, Duce!” Mussolini’s honorific as Italy’s dictator.

Anti-fascist campaigners held a march in Predappio on Friday, to mark the anniversary of the liberation of the town — and to prevent the fascists marching on the exact anniversary of the March on Rome.

Lawyer Francesco Munitillo, a far-right activist who represents the organisers, said Italy’s high court established that manifestations are permissible, as long as they are commemorative “and don’t meet the criteria that risks the reconstitution of the fascist party”.

Still, he said, magistrates in recent years have opened investigations into similar manifestations in Predappio and elsewhere to make sure they don’t violate the law. One such case was closed without charges last week.

To avoid having their message misrepresented, Santarelli asked the rank and file present not to speak to journalists, saying the words of hotheads are often misconstrued. Most complied.

Rachele Massimi travelled with a group four hours from Rome on Sunday morning to participate in the event, bringing her three-year-old who watched the march from a stroller. “It’s historic,” Massimi said. “It’s a memory.”