ROME - Plans to permanently reopen WWII dictator Benito Mussolini’s tomb as a place of pilgrimage have sparked public outrage spearheaded by the national partisans’ association ANPI. 

 Roberto Canali, mayor of Predappio, has said “Tourism would benefit from it” whereas ANPI has called it “unacceptable”.

 The possibility of permanently reopening the crypt was raised after a conversation between the mayor of Predappio, Roberto Canali, and Mussolini’s great-nephew, Caio Giulio Cesare Mussolini, a politician for the far-right Brothers of Italy party, said Il Fatto Quotidiano.

 Canali was elected this year, with the promise to permanently reopen the tomb forming part of his electoral campaign.

 “It’s not just me saying it, but the economic operators of the municipality saying it: the reopening of the tomb would bring back many tourists to the area, which would be a benefit to our tourism infrastructure, particularly bars and restaurants,” said Canali.

 The association of partisans and anti-fascists, ANPI, expressed strong opposition to the idea in response.  The president of the association in Rome, Fabrizio De Sanctis, warned,

 “If you open Mussolini’s crypt permanently it will become a place of pilgrimage… It is absurd we are talking of a dictator who destroyed Italy for 20 years, he took it into the abyss...  It is time the country faced these toxins and got rid of them once and for all.”

 There are already very serious problems with fascists treating Predappio in a pilgrimage site.  On anniversaries such as Mussolini’s death, one of three occasions in the last two years when the crypt has been open, thousands of fascists joined a parade to the tomb, reported The Guardian.

 The severe concerns about the effects of opening the tomb can only be worsened by the statement made by Caio Giulio Cesare Mussolini, which was reported in Il Fatto Quotidiano:

 “Our priority is to safeguard respect for the place of worship combining it with the wish of many people to visit the tomb.” 

 ANPI had already protested against previous openings of the crypt, saying it would “drag through the mud the memory of the many victims of fascist crime, its racial laws and collaboration with the Nazis which led to the massacre of innocent women, men and children” in a statement, reported La Repubblica at the time of the crypt’s last opening, in July.

 Replying to ANPI on the current plans, Alessandra Mussolini, Mussolini’s granddaughter, echoed Canali on the economic reasons behind interest in reopening the tomb. 

 It has not yet been finalised whether it will be reopened.  

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