‘Remember and prepare’: The fascist-era conflict that defines a valley in Abruzzo

 L'AQUILA -- In Italy’s Abruzzo region, two towns face each other over the remote Orta Valley. The icey cold river below is not the only thing dividing Salle Nuovo and Caramanico Terme. Politics, culture and contested histories clash in this idyllic rural setting.   

 I was fortunate enough to come across this valley on a weekend gita fuori porta - literally a trip outside the city-gates - with friends. One of the upsides to Rome’s dense construction is the ability to escape to wilderness surprisingly quickly. The Abruzzo region is just two hours east of Rome but resembles the Alps more than the adjacent Mediterranean. 

 It was here that the towns of Salle Nuovo and Caramanico Terme fought a microcosm of Italy’s wider fascist war. Many historians refer to this period as Italy’s civil war, the effects of which persist today.

 We arrive first in Salle Old Town, which consists of a medieval castle and several ruined houses. Our host explains that the old town was largely destroyed in the 1915 earthquake and the remnant population was relocated a kilometre down the valley to Salle Nuovo. 

 This was a fascist-era project reflected in the new town’s original name, Salle del Littorio - a reference to the fascist insignia of a bundle of sticks (a fascia - hence fascist). This would be replaced by the tricolore flame of the post-fascist movement from which the current Italian prime minister hails.

Salle del Littorio’s original name displayed on a building in the town for its opening

 On the next day we check out Salle Nuovo. Upon closer inspection it resembles a fascist model-town. The main thoroughfare is a straight parallel road with a rectangular square in the middle. Its rationalist design is replete with white marble plinths. It mimics on a much smaller scale the fascist-era street leading to St Peter’s (Via della Conciliazione) in Rome. Here the position of St Peter’s is replaced by a fascist era Municipio but the concept of forgiving past sins seems to remain.

 Small houses line this town of angular buildings and imposed symmetry. It jars against the rugged background of the surrounding hills. A bar surrounded by elderly men sits in one corner of the square whilst a faded wall painting of Mussolini stares from another, complete with the ominous printed statement ‘remember and prepare’. 

 In the castle museum you can see black and white pictures of the town welcoming ‘il Duce’ (Mussolini’s version of ‘Führer’) with flags and banners during the town's official opening in 1933. The date is commemorated ‘A XI’ on the town’s main fountain - a reference to its completion in the eleventh year of Italian facism.

Salle Nuovo’s fountain complete with fascist insignia and date ‘A XI’

 The town left a bitter aftertaste, a population shuffled from one end of the valley to another for a future that never came and now lies in a neglected state. The seriousness of its pointed design and political commitment laid to waste, with the lingering sensation that a few residents may wish for its return. After all, Mussolini’s faded face remains on one end of the square. 

Mussolini’s face on a wall in Salle Nuovo with the writing: ‘Remember and Prepare Yourself’ 

 Suitably opposed to Salle Nuovo on the other side of the valley lies Caramanico Terme. Unlike Salle Nuovo, this is a town with a lively tourism industry, medieval architecture and a public celebration of Italy’s partisans. Posters line the walls of the town publicising antifascist celebrations for 25th April - Italy’s liberation day from the Nazis. Upon closer inspection you can read how huge plates of basic pasta - “pastasciutta” - were shared in the town on the day itself - a tradition that continues to this day.

 The ANPI - Association of Italian Partisans - claims an office in pride of place at the centre of town. In its window is a full print of Volpedo’s Il Quarto Stato ("The Fourth Estate"), a social-realist masterpiece used on the front cover of the classic anti-fascist book Fontamara by Ignazio Silone. The book was based on the resistance of a fictional Abruzzo village, perhaps even this one. 

Caramanico Terme’s Partisan Association Office Window, Volpedo’s ‘The Fourth Estate’ featured on the right

 As Salle Nuovo was painting icons to the dictator, Caramanico Terme became a hotbed of resistance. A crucial turning point for the valley came on 25th July 1943 when the Italians ousted Mussolini after the allied landings in Sicily. Euphoria was short-lived however when the Nazis quickly moved in and imposed the defensive Gustav-line just south of the town. 

 In response, the Maiella Brigade of Italian partisans fought in this town and across Abruzzo alongside Polish and British forces to secure the liberation of the region. 

The Maiella Brigade which fought alongside the Allies to liberate Abruzzo

 Recently escaped allied prisoners of war from the Acquafredda POW camp were sheltered by partisans and the local community around Caramanico Terme, often at huge personal cost. The Sperduti family, who regularly sheltered escaped POWs, had their farm houses burned and three members of the family shot dead when they were discovered by the Nazis. 

 One account by POW escapee and New Zealander John Broad in his book Poor People, Poor Us, left this testament to the people of the town:

 “For some the war will be a memory of glorious victories won by comrades in arms advancing together. For us the great memory will be a stealthy and difficult fight aided by warm hearted people who saved us at the risk of their lives…”

 And the history lives on, Salle Nuovo recently restored its main fountain, retaining the key fascist insignia. According to a resident quoted in a local newspaper, its restoration reflects the "debt of remembrance" the locals owe the fascist regime for the town’s reconstruction. In Caramanico, the ANPI promotes partisan events, from communal meals to a ‘Freedom Trail’ which follows the paths of partisans and POWs in the area during the war. 

Caramanico celebrates Liberation Day with ‘Pastasciutta’

 In this isolated valley it's as if both towns lie dormant but ready; ‘remember and prepare’ could just as easily be a shared motto. One will always be more in vogue than the other, and judging by the present political times, you could say this is Salle Nuovo’s. Nevertheless, two halves of Italy’s political and cultural divide sit in a distant valley in Abruzzo, celebrating their histories and awaiting very different futures.

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