How the Nazi occupation of Rome has gripped Italy’s cultural imagination

More than 70 years after the liberation of Rome, the artworks that captured the Nazi’s nine-month occupation still resonate as strongly as ever

The position of Italy during the second world war is complex. What tends to be remembered is that Rome changed sides from the axis to the allies halfway through. But the background to that, the impact of it on Italians, the battles fought by the Italian resistance – even the existence itself of the resistance – is less familiar territory.

The shift in Italy’s position happened over the course of July 1943. Early in the month the allies landed in Sicily and the “Italian campaign” began. Mid-month, Rome was heavily bombed for the first time. In late July, Mussolini’s own Grand Council voted the Duce out of power and arrested him. The new prime minister, Pietro Badoglio, started covert negotiations with the allies but the armistice wasn’t declared until 8 September, giving the Germans time to reinforce their positions and move troops down from northern Italy.

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