Sunday it rained all day and today (Tuesday) it has begun to rain. But yesterday was beautiful – sun and blue skies. It was a great day to drive up to Predappio near Forli, the birthplace and final resting place of Mussolini. We (Bill, Pam, Michael myself and Max the dog) set out at 9.00. It takes just over an hour in the car. Straight up the motorway towards Bologna, get off at Forli and follow the signs. Predappio itself is long and narrow stretching out along the road leading into the Appenines. It’s quite a pretty town with some building from the fascist era bordering the street and quite a few souvenir shops selling Mussolini memorabilia but no signs at the entrance to the town telling you that it was his birthplace.
We parked in the street and strolled through the town. The house where he was born is on the hill behind the main street. There is a small museum there but it is only open at weekends. Couldn’t see any signs for his tomb and as the tourist office was closed we went into the most reputable looking of the souvenir shops and we were told that the tomb was in a cemetery about 2 kilometres outside the town. So we decided to walk. It is a largish cemetary and right at the back is the family mausoleum. Descending the steps you enter a retangular room with a number of stone coffins. Mussolini’s tomb is in a central chapel with a carved head in a niche. There are some other items in the chapel including a bag of sand from El Alamein. Among the other coffins are those of his wife Rachele and his son Bruno who was killed in a flying accident in 1941.
The place was very simple with no graffiti of pro- or anti-Mussolini sentiments only some plaques from various fascist groups lamenting his passing but it was worth the journey.
By the time we returned to Predappio town it was almost 1.00 and so our thoughts turned from Mussolini to lunch. There didn’t seem to be anywhere nice in Predappio itself and so we headed up to the upper town of Predappio alta to see if there anywhere to eat.