Uncover controversial street names that you may uncover on an Italy Tour, and that may be dismissed as insignificant to the eye of an unprepared tourist.
When traveling and exploring Italy on small-group tour vacations, local guides are there to provide insight and share the Italian perspective that one may not find in guidebooks.
Italy’s streets serve as more than just paths for travel; they are a living testament to the nation’s turbulent history, etched in stone and inscribed on nameplates. The debate surrounding many Italian street names extends beyond mere terminology; it touches on profound issues of historical memory, national identity, and the unresolved wounds of a complex past.
These controversial names, often associated with figures from the Fascist era, colonialism, or times of political violence, compel a continuous examination of the darker chapters in Italy’s history.
Trace Fascist symbols in the streets of Italy
The primary source of conflict regarding street names in Italy is tied to the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. For many people, streets named after key figures from this era represent a painful and unacceptable glorification of a totalitarian dictatorship that was responsible for the suppression of civil liberties, political persecution, and complicity in the Holocaust.
Tourists can still find some vestiges of Fascism in many Italian cities. From train stations to public buildings to entire neighborhoods, the list of architectural styles inspired by the efficient, severe look of the 1920s and ’30s is very long.
In Turin, the first stretch of via Roma, between Porta Nuova train station and Piazza San Carlo, was completely pulled down, modernized, and rebuilt in Rationalist style. Bolzano, Milan, Asti, Naples, and, of course, Rome, as well as the smaller towns from north to south, still bear symbols of Fascism.
Despite the recent efforts of some left-oriented political leaders to depoliticize monuments and symbols of that period, the Country is debating whether people have been injured and if this dark page of Italian history should be canceled or not.
The controversial statue of Piazza Ognissanti in Florence
Piazza Ognissanti in Florence features a statue of Romano Romanelli, representing Hercules and the Lion. Tourists may think it’s just one of the many works of art of the Renaissance period, inspired by classicism that embellishes many squares of the Tuscan city.
The truth is that the statue was made in 1935 and placed in the square in 1937 to celebrate the victory of Fascism in Ethiopia, recalling one of the most controversial pages of Italian history: the (late) colonialism.
Under that light, the statue’s symbols acquire new meaning: Hercules is supposed to represent the power and strength of Mussolini, who defeated the local Ethiopian Emperor Hailé Selassié, whose coat of arms was the lion.
In a time when the influence of the Cancel Culture Movement, which originated in the USA, is spreading in Europe, Romanelli’s statue in Piazza Ognissanti in Florence has become highly controversial because it combines two sensitive topics: the shame of colonialism in Africa and the military achievements of the dictatorship.
Controversial Street Names on an Italy Tour: Piazza Adua
The name Piazza Adua, found in several Italian towns, commemorates the 1896 Battle of Adwa in Ethiopia. This battle marked a humiliating defeat for Italy, but it was also a significant moment in the country’s colonial ambitions. For advocates of removing the name, it serves as a painful reminder of Italy’s frequently brutal and exploitative actions in Africa.
In 1896, Ethiopian forces defeated the Italian invading army, which was attempting to expand its colonial empire in the Horn of Africa.
European monarchs occupied most of Africa’s territories since the beginning of colonialism, leaving Ethiopia and Liberia as the only independent countries by the end of the 19th century.
Fascists, therefore, wanted to commemorate Adwa for the loss of many Italian soldiers who died for their Country, and it turned out to be an episode that gave motivation for the next expedition in Ethiopia.
In fact, forty years later, Ethiopian sovereignty was defeated by Mussolini in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, equally controversial for the illegal use of poisonous gases and for the high number of victims on both sides.
The controversial name of Giorgio Almirante in Italy’s streets
As you explore the streets of Italy on a tour, you may come across controversial ones dedicated to Giorgio Almirante. He was an Italian politician and leader of the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI). He had a significant influence, so much so that, according to 2011 data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics, 200 streets, squares, or roundabouts still bear his name today.
Every time a city council comes up with Almirante’s name, strong reactions and opposition from left-based political parties are raised. This has been particularly the case in those cities where the remembrance of the partisans’ resistance against the nazi-fascist occupation is still vivid and honored.
In fact, Giorgio Almirante, in his early life as a journalist, wrote extensively and favorably about the defense of the Italian race, in the same years when, in Italy, racial laws were approved and the deportation of Jews began.
He was also indicted for ordering the shooting of partisans in 1944, although a general amnesty saw these charges lifted.
His political views shifted towards a more moderate position in the following decades, and by the 1970s, he declared his own support for democracy. On this basis, he continued to attract more conservative elements to his own political party and, simultaneously, he worked on reforms such as the project of a Presidential Republic (inspired by the French model), he disagreed with the increasing power given to the regions rather than to a centralized Government, and much else.
Political reactions behind Almirante’s name
In 2022, the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, refused to name a public park after Giorgio Almirante because “the city previously gained a Gold Medal for the events related to the Partisan Resistance and such values, as well as the history and the principles of the Italian Constitution, are not forgotten”.
Alessandria is a city in Piedmont where, in 2010, a newly-built roundabout dedicated to Almirante raised criticism. To maintain public silence, it was decided to name other streets after notable politicians, such as Palmiro Togliatti, leader of the Communist Party, and Nilde Iotti, the first and only woman member of the same party to become President of the Chamber of Deputies in 1979.
These street names can be very divisive, as they serve as reminders of a turbulent period in Italian history.
Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, Two Heroes in the Streets of Italy
A total of 8,092 municipalities in Italy have named 740 public spaces after Falcone or Borsellino, the two most prominent prosecutors and fighters against the Sicilian mafia.
In May 1992, Giovanni Falcone, his wife, and their bodyguards were killed by the mafia in a devastating explosion on the highway between Palermo’s airport and the city center, on the way to his home for the weekend.
An earthquake was locally registered as the consequence of the blasting, caused by 400 kg (881 lbs) of explosives, meant not only to kill whoever was passing by on the road, but to be a demonstration of the power of the Mafia.
A few months later, Falcone’s friend and colleague Paolo Borsellino was also killed by a car bomb placed in central Palermo, while he was visiting his mother on a Sunday morning.
The Fight against the Mafia as Civil Integration
Sadly, their accomplishments were not enough to protect their own lives, and they became the symbols of all the good Italians who refused to submit to the power of the mafia. While these names are widely celebrated, they can also be controversial. Debates often arise regarding the state’s failure to protect individuals and whether such tributes adequately address the ongoing fight against the Mafia. These names serve not only to honor the deceased but also as a call to action for the living.
It should not be a surprise that 44% of the street names named after Falcone and Borsellino are in the south of Italy, against 42% in the north and 14% in the center.
This data is meant to confirm how the memory of these two men has been a resource to reject the association between the Mafia and Sicily, the region where everything began.
Sicily, in particular, is fighting to preserve the reputation of hard-working people who want to be safe and not involved in criminal organizations. At the same time, the way the fight against the mafia was conducted in the previous decades is still a controversial topic.
Historians have pointed out how northern Italy tends to have a majority of symbols, monuments, and commemorative sites related to the nazi-fascist occupation and to WWII, while the regions in the south rely more on the fight against the Mafia as a civil integration.
Controversial Street Names on an Italy Tour: Via Balbo
One of the street names that can be easily uncovered on a tour of Italy is Via Balbo; however, not everyone is aware that two men from different historical backgrounds shared the same last name.
The first one, Cesare, was a writer and statesman, born in Turin in 1789. He is considered one of the fathers of the Italian State who contributed to the planning process of the unification of the Country.
On the contrary, Italo Balbo was an Italian fascist politician, a Marshal of the Air Force, sometimes seen as a possible successor of Mussolini. He is remembered for the incredible aeronautic expedition from Italy to America, the first of its kind.
The Importance of Local Insight on an Italy Tour: the Case of Balbo
In-depth small-group tours to Italy can provide valuable insight and historical background, preparing you for your own exploration and helping you know what to expect.
Every Italian city or town has a Via Cesare Balbo, in honor of the patriotic and liberal ideals of a man who lived in the first half of the 1800s, during the struggle for independence and wars against the Austrian occupation in Milan and Venice.
As the first Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Piedmont and Sardinia, he was devoted to the Savoy king and strongly believed that the Royal family could have played a strategic role in Italy’s fate. On the contrary, he did not support the idea of having the Pope leading the Country, and he suggested compensation for Austria that would have lost Italian territories.
Cesare Balbo died eight years before Italy was unified in 1861, having believed in the vision of a unified Italy, free from foreign control and under the guidance of the House of Savoy.
Balbo Drive in Chicago and via Italo Balbo in Italian towns
Italo Balbo has nothing to do with Cesare and no family connection, despite the same last name.
Among the 5 Controversial Street Names on an Italy Tour, Via Italo Balbo can be found in Castel Volturno (in the province of Caserta), Monteroduni (in the province of Isernia), Itri, and Minturno, which are near Latina, a city built by Fascism after the draining of the local swamps. In all cases, those streets were named in the 1930s, during the Fascist era, and have not changed their names since then.
Regardless of Italo Balbo’s political vision, what made him a hero was the successful two-week-long transatlantic crossing from Italy to Chicago. Twenty-five seaplanes departed from Orbetello, in Tuscany, in July 1933 and reached Lake Michigan after making seven stopovers in Amsterdam, Londonderry, Iceland, Labrador, and other Canadian towns.
He was welcomed like a hero in Chicago, which was then celebrating the 100th anniversary of the city’s founding. In his honor, Balbo Drive remains open and still exists, despite a recent project to change its name in light of the ideals of the Cancel Culture Movement.
Controversial Street Names on an Italy Tour: Politicians
The “Years of Lead” (Anni di Piombo) refers to a tumultuous period in Italy characterized by intense socio-political strife and widespread terrorism, spanning from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. During this time, a series of violent events, including bombings, assassinations, and kidnappings, deeply affected the nation and contributed to significant societal divisions.
One of the most prominent figures of this era was Aldo Moro, who served as Prime Minister of Italy. He was tragically kidnapped and killed by the left-wing militant group, the Red Brigades, in 1978. The act of naming a street after Aldo Moro serves as a complex symbol.
On one hand, it can be seen as a unifying tribute to a victim of political terrorism, honoring his legacy and the ideals of democracy he represented. On the other hand, this commemoration can also evoke painful memories and exacerbate existing political rifts, as it brings to the forefront the contentious history of the conflict between extremist groups and the state.
Controversial Names of Togliatti and Gramsci on Italian Streets
Streets named after leaders of the Italian Communist Party, such as Palmiro Togliatti and Antonio Gramsci, are celebrated by the political left but can be viewed as provocative by those with strong anti-communist sentiments.
The history of the Italian political left is closely tied to the figures of these two leaders of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) whose influence has left a lasting mark on the country’s political and intellectual landscape. While both are highly regarded, their legacies differ significantly, reflecting their distinct roles and philosophies.
Gramsci, often referred to as the intellectual martyr, laid the theoretical groundwork for a distinctively Italian form of communism. In contrast, Togliatti, the pragmatic statesman, focused on building a mass political party that aimed to navigate the complexities of a democratic society. Together, their combined influence has shaped the Italian left and remains a topic of both admiration and intense debate.
The commemoration of Gramsci and Togliatti in Italy—with streets, squares, and institutions bearing their names—is a testament to their lasting impact. For many on the political left, these names honor the sacrifices of the anti-fascist resistance and the struggle for workers’ rights. They represent a tradition of intellectual rigor and popular organization that helped rebuild Italy after World War II.
However, for their detractors, particularly those on the right, these names are controversial. They serve as a reminder of the PCI’s historical ties to the Soviet Union and a political ideology that, in other countries, led to totalitarian rule. This divide highlights how the legacies of Gramsci and Togliatti are not just historical artifacts but continue to be a source of contemporary political identity and conflict in Italy, representing the enduring tension between revolutionary theory and political practice.
The decision to name or rename a street in Italy is never neutral; it is inherently political. This act reflects the narratives that a society chooses to prioritize and celebrate. The ongoing debates surrounding these decisions highlight a nation that is still wrestling with its complex history and, in the process, seeking to define the direction it wishes to take for the future.
