Latina is a town south of Rome that was built by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini on reclaimed Pontine Marshes, inaugurated as Littoria in 1932.
On the page dedicated to “illustrious visits for the inauguration of Littoria”, Goebbels’ name was listed alongside the description “Hitler’s trusted man”.
As part of preparations for the city’s upcoming centenary, recognised by state law last year, the municipality’s website included a reference to the Nazi leader, placing him among other notable figures who visited Littoria after the “Great Reclamation” and the “new situation created by Fascism”.
Other names listed included King Vittorio Emanuele III, Umberto of Savoy and Soviet Foreign Affairs Commissar Maksim Litvinov.
Marco Omizzolo, a sociologist, writer and author of numerous studies on the mafia and labour exploitation, condemned the inclusion of Goebbels.
“In the year that marks the eightieth anniversary of Italy’s liberation, including the ‘Minister of Propaganda of the Reich and Hitler’s right-hand man’, the Nazi Joseph Goebbels, among the illustrious visitors to Latina is unacceptable,” Omizzolo said.
“It matters little that it was deleted the day after publication. The offense to all of democratic and republican Italy remains,” he stated.
“I fear that in Latina, formerly Littoria, this administration wants to remove the ‘ex’ and return to Littoria,” he added.
ANSA
