Bologna, September 7, 2026 – After the announcement in recent months, the official communication has now arrived: the funds for the 5 Places of Memory have been restored, after a cut that was communicated around mid-April. The Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, had already confirmed the reinstatement at the beginning of July.
The request for reinstatement came from the PD, with a battle that also ended up in Parliament with the question from deputy Andrea De Maria, who today comments: “The formal communication has arrived from the Ministry of Culture regarding the restoration of resources allocated to the five Places of Memory of Marzabotto, Fossoli, Museo Cervi, Sant’Anna di Stazzema and Risiera di San Sabba, which had been cut with the March fuel decree. I had taken a parliamentary initiative to request the restoration of funding and the matter was also addressed very clearly by the President of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Michele de Pascale. After the announcement in recent months, the official communication has now arrived. This is a positive fact: a serious mistake has been corrected.”
Resources for the Places of Memory
“The five Places of Memory play a fundamental role in preserving the history of the Resistance and the Nazi-fascist massacres,” continues De Maria. “The Memory of the Resistance is a founding part of our national identity and represents an essential reference for the values of the Constitution. Now the comprehensive restoration of the funding provided since 2018 remains to be implemented, the result of a parliamentary initiative I had undertaken with other colleagues that has suffered cuts starting from 2023. A topic to be addressed also in view of the next budget law.”
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The reason for the cuts
The cuts of 700,000 euros, specifically, concerned Sant’Anna di Stazzema, San Sabba, Marzabotto, the Fossoli camp and Casa Cervi. All within the ‘excise decree’, implemented by the government to cap fuel prices in response to geopolitical tensions that triggered the increase.
The fund for Memory was established in December 2017, then the cuts a few days before April 25, with the outrage of various political forces and institutions. “The cut of funds to the places of memory of the Resistance is a serious problem for two reasons – De Maria said in an interview with Il Carlino –: first of all many ongoing projects risk being stopped, then the support for institutions that keep antifascism alive is questioned, which is the foundation of the Constitution sworn to by those holding institutional and government positions.”
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