section_path: Post World War II/Italy
section_name: Italy
paragraph_text: Italy
  
  The salute has been used many times by prominent individuals as well as groups of people since the war. Famed poet Ezra Pound used the salute in praise of his adopted country of Italy when he returned in 1958 after being released from an insane asylum in the United States. The salute was on display in the 1968 funeral for Mussolini's youngest daughter, Anna Maria Mussolini Negri. When the Italian Social Movement had its greatest electoral gains since the Second World War in June 1971, crowds at the party headquarters cheered and gave the outstretched arm salute. On July 29, 1983, on the 100th anniversary of Mussolini's birth, thousands of black-shirted supporters chanted "Duce! Duce!" with their arms raised in the fascist salute on a march from his native village of Predappio in Romagna to the cemetery where he was buried. On the eve of Silvio Berlusconi 's election victory in 1994, young supporters of Gianfranco Fini made the fascist salute while chanting "Duce! Duce!"
  
  In 2005, Italian footballer Paolo Di Canio created controversy by twice using the gesture to salute S.S. Lazio fans, first in a match against archrivals A.S. Roma and then against A.S. Livorno Calcio (a club inclined to leftist politics). Di Canio received a one match game ban after the second event and was fined 7,000 euros, after which he was quoted as saying "I will always salute as I did because it gives me a sense of belonging to my people I saluted my people with what for me is a sign of belonging to a group that holds true values, values of civility against the standardisation that this society imposes upon us." His salute featured on unofficial merchandise sold outside Stadio Olimpico after the ban. Di Canio has also expressed admiration for Mussolini.
  
  In June 2009, Michela Vittoria Brambilla, an Italian politician and businesswoman commonly described as a possible successor to Silvio Berlusconi for leadership of the Italian right, was caught in a controversy over her alleged use of the Roman salute, with calls for her to step down. She denied the accusation, stating "I've never either done or thought of doing any gesture that is an apology of fascism, something toward which I've never showed any indulgence, let alone sympathy. And why should I have made a public display of such a despicable gesture shortly after I've been made a minister?" A video of the event was posted on the Web site of the newspaper La Repubblica that showed Brambilla extending her right arm upward in what appears to be a fascist salute. Brambilla said she was just greeting the crowd.
  
  In January 2024, hundreds of neo-fascists gathered at the MSI 's former headquarters to commemorate the Acca Larentia killings. They performed fascist salutes and shouted: " Camerati, present!" They also did a typical rallying cry at neo-fascist events: "For all fallen comrades!" This prompted criticism from the opposition and outrage. Marco Vizzardelli, a theatre-goer who was quickly identified by DIGOS for shouting "Long live anti-fascist Italy!" at La Scala, said that he was "outraged", adding: "Nobody stopped them, double standards." Fabio Rampelli of Brothers of Italy (FdI), an MSI-heir party that also commemorates the victims, said that these were loose cannons and that FdI had nothing to do with it. Opposition leaders, such as Elly Schlein, asked Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy and FdI member, to apply the ban of neo-fascist groups that is part of the Italian Constitution, which far-right groups are able to circumvent by using a different name and proclaiming themselves to be new political forces. Others also urged Meloni and Lazio president Francesco Rocca to distance themselves.
  
  In June 2024, Fanpage.it released an undercover report on the activities of Gioventù Nazionale, youth wing of the right-wing political party Brothers of Italy. The investigation captured members of National Youth engaging in chanting slogans, singing songs, and making the salute associated with fascism. These behaviors were said to be encouraged privately within the group but discouraged publicly to avoid media scrutiny. Eric Mamer, spokesperson for European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen, criticized the use of fascist symbols by the organization. Opposition figures like Elly Schlein and Nicola Fratoianni condemned National Youth's actions and called on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for clarification while right-wing politician Italo Bocchino defended them and dismissed Fanpage's investigation as "garbage".
  
  The salute has been used many times by prominent individuals as well as groups of people since the war. Famed poet Ezra Pound used the salute in praise of his adopted country of Italy when he returned in 1958 after being released from an insane asylum in the United States. The salute was on display in the 1968 funeral for Mussolini's youngest daughter, Anna Maria Mussolini Negri. When the Italian Social Movement had its greatest electoral gains since the Second World War in June 1971, crowds at the party headquarters cheered and gave the outstretched arm salute. On July 29, 1983, on the 100th anniversary of Mussolini's birth, thousands of black-shirted supporters chanted "Duce! Duce!" with their arms raised in the fascist salute on a march from his native village of Predappio in Romagna to the cemetery where he was buried. On the eve of Silvio Berlusconi 's election victory in 1994, young supporters of Gianfranco Fini made the fascist salute while chanting "Duce! Duce!"
  
  In 2005, Italian footballer Paolo Di Canio created controversy by twice using the gesture to salute S.S. Lazio fans, first in a match against archrivals A.S. Roma and then against A.S. Livorno Calcio (a club inclined to leftist politics). Di Canio received a one match game ban after the second event and was fined 7,000 euros, after which he was quoted as saying "I will always salute as I did because it gives me a sense of belonging to my people I saluted my people with what for me is a sign of belonging to a group that holds true values, values of civility against the standardisation that this society imposes upon us." His salute featured on unofficial merchandise sold outside Stadio Olimpico after the ban. Di Canio has also expressed admiration for Mussolini.
  
  In June 2009, Michela Vittoria Brambilla, an Italian politician and businesswoman commonly described as a possible successor to Silvio Berlusconi for leadership of the Italian right, was caught in a controversy over her alleged use of the Roman salute, with calls for her to step down. She denied the accusation, stating "I've never either done or thought of doing any gesture that is an apology of fascism, something toward which I've never showed any indulgence, let alone sympathy. And why should I have made a public display of such a despicable gesture shortly after I've been made a minister?" A video of the event was posted on the Web site of the newspaper La Repubblica that showed Brambilla extending her right arm upward in what appears to be a fascist salute. Brambilla said she was just greeting the crowd.
  
  In January 2024, hundreds of neo-fascists gathered at the MSI 's former headquarters to commemorate the Acca Larentia killings. They performed fascist salutes and shouted: " Camerati, present!" They also did a typical rallying cry at neo-fascist events: "For all fallen comrades!" This prompted criticism from the opposition and outrage. Marco Vizzardelli, a theatre-goer who was quickly identified by DIGOS for shouting "Long live anti-fascist Italy!" at La Scala, said that he was "outraged", adding: "Nobody stopped them, double standards." Fabio Rampelli of Brothers of Italy (FdI), an MSI-heir party that also commemorates the victims, said that these were loose cannons and that FdI had nothing to do with it. Opposition leaders, such as Elly Schlein, asked Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy and FdI member, to apply the ban of neo-fascist groups that is part of the Italian Constitution, which far-right groups are able to circumvent by using a different name and proclaiming themselves to be new political forces. Others also urged Meloni and Lazio president Francesco Rocca to distance themselves.
  
  In June 2024, Fanpage.it released an undercover report on the activities of Gioventù Nazionale, youth wing of the right-wing political party Brothers of Italy. The investigation captured members of National Youth engaging in chanting slogans, singing songs, and making the salute associated with fascism. These behaviors were said to be encouraged privately within the group but discouraged publicly to avoid media scrutiny. Eric Mamer, spokesperson for European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen, criticized the use of fascist symbols by the organization. Opposition figures like Elly Schlein and Nicola Fratoianni condemned National Youth's actions and called on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for clarification while right-wing politician Italo Bocchino defended them and dismissed Fanpage's investigation as "garbage".