In this three-hour walk, the secret history of Rome at the fall of fascism is unveiled by Anthony Majanlahti (The Families who Made Rome, 2005), using research for his upcoming book on Rome under the Nazi occupation of 1943-45. We start in the San Lorenzo quarter, a working-class district that was thoroughly bombed on 19 July 1943, provoking the collapse of Mussolini's dictatorship a week later; we visit the district to learn to spot the signs of bombardment, in some cases never healed, and see the wounds inflicted on the basilica of San Lorenzo itself, a jewel of the Middle Ages. Then we move south of Termini station to explore the little-known story of the Italian police during the Nazi occupation, looking at the raid on the Russian Seminary that captured numerous hidden resistance leaders and refugee Jews, and the ominous Pensione Oltremare, a simple hotel turned into a prison for the torture of resistance fighters by the most terrifying of the fascist police, the fearsome Koch Band. The fascinating story of the nine-month German occupation and its effects, for the most part completely unknown to both modern-day Romans and visitors alike, comes alive as we watch the western world struggle over its most famous city.
This event is part of our Out of Context lecture series, and is only currently being held on September 26 at 10:00 am. We can schedule it privately on a per-request basis, if given enough advance warning.
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