Casa Museo Giacomo Matteotti

Giacomo Matteotti was an Italian politician and member of the Chamber of Deputies in the early 1920s as a member of the Socialist Party. He was openly against Mussolini and his rising fascist party, denouncing the violence of the fascist squads during the 1921 elections.

Mussolini became the Prime Minister in late 1922 after the March on Rome. In the April 1924 elections, the fascist party won two thirds of the seats in the parliament using intimidation tactics and violence. Matteotti denounced the violence speaking to the parliament on 30 May 1924 claiming that they were invalid and illegitimate.

On 10 June 1924 Matteotti was kidnapped and killed by a fascist squad. Five men were arrested but released shortly after, being sentenced to life imprisonment only after World War II. Despite the pressure from the opposition, King Victor Emmanuel III refused to dismiss Mussolini, considered the mandator of the crime, as Prime Minister, and this event marked an important step towards dictatorship in Italy.

Casa Museo di Giacomo Matteotti is the house where the politician was born, it was built in the late 18th century and features original 1920s furniture and a park. The upper part of the house has now been turned into a museum that narrates the history of Matteotti, the rise to power of Mussolini and fascism and the tragic events of 1924 that eventually brought Italy to dictatorship.