Mural against anti-Semitism defaced in Milan joins permanent collection of Shoah Museum in Rome

On the occasion of the80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the work by AleXsandro Palombo depicting Liliana Segre and Sami Modiano that had appeared in Milan ’s Piazzale Loreto on Sept. 30, 2024, was unveiled in Rome by Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri, Undersecretary for Culture Federico Mollicone, Shoah Museum President Mario Venezia and Victor Fadlun, President of the Jewish Community of Rome. The mural against anti-Semitism had been defaced by anti-Semitic actions and later removed. The work Anti-Semitism, History Repeating aims to celebrate two of the last great Italian witnesses who survived the Holocaust. It has now been acquired by the Museum of the Shoah in Rome becoming part of its permanent collection and has been placed in front of the Porta d’Ottavia, under the plaque commemorating the October 16, 1943 round-up.

This acquisition, promoted by the Shoah Museum Foundation, underscores the importance of preserving memory through art. The decision to transfer the mural to Rome, in the context of the Shoah Museum Foundation, is intended to be not only an act of protection, but also a message against hatred and intolerance.

“This work represents Remembrance and the importance of not forgetting the tragedy of the Shoah, the lowest point reached in human history, which we have a duty to remember and honor the witnesses, the victims to fight so that no one forgets and that everyone knows that this horror will never happen again, against all forms of anti-Semitism, racism, against the violence and horror that led to that crime against humanity, and to have this beautiful mural here in Rome on the very eve of the Day of Remembrance and 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, I think is a very important and right signal,” said Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri.

“I am here representing the Culture Committee and Parliament at this important moment of inauguration of a restorative artwork such as precisely the street art representing Liliana Segre and Sami Modiano and the immersive exhibition on the liberation of the camps,” said Undersecretary for Culture Federico Mollicone. “We believe and we have done so concretely as President Giorgia Meloni mentioned, that remembering the Shoah is not only a duty but a distancing from what has been represented as the abyss of humanity.”

“When we learned the news of the defacement of the mural in Milan,” said Mario Venezia, president of the Shoah Museum Foundation, “we were overcome with indignation. A vile and senseless gesture that not only affects art, but attempts to wound the very heart of Memory. But we did not give in to this symbolic violence. We turned anger into an act of beauty and resistance, making contact with the artist, who was able to reinvent the work and create a new version in Rome, at the Casina dei Vallati, the Foundation’s museum headquarters. This mural is our response: a wound that heals, a symbol that comes back to life stronger than before, because Memory cannot be sullied.”

The mural will be visible outdoors until Feb. 2, 2025, and then will find a permanent location in the Casina dei Vallati, the medieval-era building that is the heart of the Foundation’s activities.

Mural against anti-Semitism defaced in Milan joins permanent collection of Shoah Museum in Rome

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.