Eighty Years On: Fascism’s Enduring Appeal and the Danger of Historical Revisionism
Following his failed attempt to flee to Switzerland, Benito Mussolini was captured and executed by Italian partisans, along with his mistress Clara Petacci. Their bodies, along with those of sixteen other Fascists, were subsequently displayed in Milan’s Piazzale Loreto—a location previously used by the Fascists to intimidate the populace—as an act of revenge and symbolic retribution. This public display of the former dictator’s corpse, once idolized, became a site of intense public anger and desecration, reflecting the chaotic transition between regimes. The event’s significance continues to resonate today, particularly in light of the recent rise of far-right sentiment in Italy.
John Q. Hosedrinker