Sunday, July 10, 2005

Post Number Thirty-Six: Freedom

Of the Celebrations for the End of Fascism

In 1922, Benito Mussolini took power in Italy and transformed the young nation (Italy was unified in 1860) into a dire dictatorship. Mussolini's folly led Italy to WWII on the side of Nazi Germany, until on April 25th, 1945, the Allied forces and the leftist rebels, united, liberated the country.

During the Fascist era, Italians knew no freedom, nor peace. Incidentally, 2005 is exactly 60 years after the fall of Fascism. The City Hall of Bergamo, a nice town in the North of Italy, hired the cartoonist Bruno Bozzetto to celebrate the return to Freedom. Since I have noticed the last cartoon by Bozzetto met some appreciation from my readers, I'll be glad to link to another, although this is not hilarious. I actually find it very poetic.

I would like to dedicate it to all those that just don't fit in the narrow space others have drawn for them. That includes me, incidentally.

So, to all those that seek Freedom, here's the link to Bozzetto's cartoon:

http://www.bozzetto.com/libert%E0.htm

Note: Captions are in Italian. Here's a translation:
"La Libertà" : Freedom
"La Libertà va sempre conquistata" : Freedom must always be conquerred