They don’t sing to us at Villa Mussolini. But “it’s ridiculous not to want to perform somewhere because of the name it carries”. “History does not change”. Edda Negri, the niece of the fascist dictator, says so when commenting on the choice of some artists not to exhibit at Riccione’s residence, which belongs to the man who threw Italy into the abyss of World War II.
“I don’t see culture in choosing not to exhibit at Villa Mussolini,” says Negri. Rest Pug. “Where do we want to get to? Aren’t we going to Milan station anymore because its history stretches back to Ventennio?” he asks.
The beautiful waterfront structure has become a venue for exhibitions and cultural events, but recently this situation has erupted. The municipality uses it for cultural events, but some unnamed artists refused to perform.
“I remember that in 2005 centre-left rulers who wanted to keep the name were more forward thinking,” says the dictator’s nephew. But “everything has gotten worse in recent years, there’s a lot more hate,” he says. “I get many more threats, even death threats. I find twelve-year-olds – he says – telling me on TikTok ‘I’ll take you to piazzale Loreto’. But they don’t know anything, not even Piazzale Loreto. It’s just a constant wolf cry “. “I believe all this is due to a deep ignorance, and I’m not making it a partisan issue. There is ignorance from right to left,” he continues.
“At a certain point you have to make peace with history because it will always remain Mussolini’s residence,” says Mimma Spinelli, former mayor of the nearby municipality of Coriano, Senator of the Italian Brotherhood. “The Left and certain cultural and artistic circles affiliated with it,” says Beatriz Colombo, FDI MP from Riccione, “pulled the specter of fascism from the drawers of history. But the Italians and the Romagna people did not do that. They even called for the return of an ideology that had been dead and buried for over seventy years.” Let’s believe for a moment”.
Villa Mussolini in Riccione
Villa Mussolini, formerly Villa Margherita, is a villa in Riccione, known as the summer residence of Benito Mussolini, his wife Rachele Guidi, and their five children from 1934 to 1943. In 1979 the communist junta led by Mayor Terzo Pierani decided to overthrow it. villa and to make a park there, but the project was not implemented.
In 1997 the building was purchased by the Cassa di Risparmio di Rimini Foundation and loaned to the municipality for use. Despite some disagreements and protests, 750,000 euros were allocated for the restoration of the building (added 250,000 euros from the state of Rimini). With a controversial decision, the municipality administration changed the name of Villa Margherita to “Villa Mussolini”, making it an exhibition and event venue. After restorations, the villa was reopened in July 2005.
Source: Today IT
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
