From Denial to Restitution: Restoration and Critical Narration of the Italian Fascis t Heritage

How did Italy come to terms after World War II with the huge amount of propaganda imagery that during the twenty-year fascist period covered the interior and exterior walls of many public buildings across the nation? Destruction was only a temporary option after the fall of the regime, while in the years that followed, many artworks were hidden, altered, repurposed. They are now visible through restorations. This analysis explores the cultural reasons behind this multifaceted framework of denial, while also highlighting the narrative policies applied to the recovered works starting in the 1980s. Comparative cases show a complex and structurally diverse scenario, with some successful examples offering critical reinterpretations and rewritings of history.