Bologna collectives hang Meloni mannequin upside down

(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 11 - Members of Bologna's leftwing collectives on Thursday hung a mannequin of Premier Giorgia Meloni upside down in the centre of the Emilian capital recalling the way the bodies of Mussolini, his lover and several Fascist high-ups were displayed in a Milan square after the desecration of their remains in 1945.
    The mannequin of Italy's first woman premier, dressed in military garb, was strung up by the feet below Bologna's iconic Two Towers during a march against the cost of living crisis and in favour of "the good life", involving some 200 people.
    The act was widely condemned on Friday on all sides of the political spectrum with Simona Malpezzi, Senate caucus leader for the centre-left opposition Democratic Party, saying "what happened in Bologna yesterday is very serious....We strongly condemn all intimidatory and violent acts of hate, solidarity with the premier".
    But Communist Refoundation bigwig Giovanni Barbera said "those who sow the wind reap the storm. I'm sorry to say that this mannequin is the fruit of the climate that has been dangerously fuelled by the new rightwing government with its ill-judged choices and the statements of its inadequate ministers," referring among other things to crackdowns on raves and migrants.
    Farm Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, Meloni's brother-in-law and nephew of the screen diva Gina, said "people who use this verbal and symbolic violence should be stopped from operating with this method, which is dangerous not only for the right but for all citizens".
    Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was strung up by the feet in a Milan square after being shot by partisans in 1945.
    The bodies of Mussolini and his lover Claretta Petacci were left in a suburban square, the Piazzale Loreto, for a large angry crowd to insult and physically abuse. Mussolini's face was badly disfigured and spat and urinated on. They bodies were then hung upside down from a metal girder above a service station on the square, along with the bodies of other Fascist bigwigs.
    The choice of location was deliberate. Fifteen partisans had been shot there in August 1944 in retaliation for partisan attacks and Allied bombing raids, and their bodies had then been left on public display. (ANSA).