Martyrial Memory: Imagining the Fascist Afterlife of Giovanni Berta

Giovanni Berta, who died in Florence, in February 1921, was almost immediately declared a Fascist martyr and his memory was preserved and embellished through a variety of cultural means. This article will specifically consider how artistic representations of Berta's death contributed to reinforcing the legend of his murder and with what aims. Legitimizing and rationalizing Florentine Fascism's campaign of violence against its socialist and communist enemies, his memory also played an important and emotive role in the national party's mass mobilization campaign. Keywords: Fascism; Florence; Giovanni Berta; martyrs; cultural memory
Giovanni Berta died on the evening of February 28, 1921, after falling, jumping or being thrown from the Ponte Sospeso in Florence. One of a number of violent and shocking [...]