The coffin, which once contained the remains of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, is up for auction with an initial price of £ 4,000.
The old coffin, where Benito Mussolini's body has been stored for 11 years, is put up for sale at the eBay virtual auction. The fascist dictator was captured and killed by Italian partisans when he tried to flee to Switzerland at the end of World War II. Mussolini’s body, as well as the body of his mistress, Clara Petacci, were discovered near a gas station near Milan.
In 1946, the remains of a bloody dictator were moved to the Capuchin monastery in the town of Cerro Maggiore, which is located 15 kilometers from Milan, near the city of Legnano. Mussolini's body was in a coffin, carefully hidden in a monastery. If it had been found by the post-war authorities of Italy, the Capuchins would have been brought to trial for properly giving the remains of the dictator to the earth, which would be considered a serious crime and an endorsement of the actions of the fascist. The remains of Mussolini were kept in Cerro Maggiore until 1957, when the monks decided to reveal their secret to the authorities. The government allowed the relatives of the murdered dictator to bury his body in accordance with church rules in his hometown of Predappio on the Adriatic coast.
As the Italian authorities once feared, the tomb of Mussolini became a kind of shrine for those who adhered to the fascist current. Thousands of people come to Preappio every year to commemorate the dictator and lay flowers on the tombstone.
Meanwhile, the old coffin of Mussolini passed from the Capuchins into the possession of a family from Legnano, who decided to put it up for auction on eBay with the support of the Italian virtual auction lovendoperte.it with an initial price of 4,000 pounds, which is equivalent to 5,000 euros. A note is attached to the unusual lot, which says “The remains of Benito Mussolini rested here, April 1946 - August 1957.” However, today in Italy, where you can easily find adherents of neo-fascism and admirers of Mussolini, it was not so easy to find those who would agree to acquire a kind relic. The coffin was put up for sale a few weeks ago, but so far no one has been found who is willing to pay a couple thousand euros for the “penultimate refuge” of the dictator.
“Initially, about 30 people said they were interested in acquiring it, but in the end no one bought it,” said Daniele Luoni, owner of an Italian online auction. Luoni also said that due to the zero demand for the lot, its owners will be asked to withdraw it from the auction.
It is worth noting that things one way or another connected with the last Italian dictator, regularly become objects of bidding. So, for example, in May of this year, a 300-year-old violin, which Mussolini once played, was put up for auction. The starting price of the lot was $ 250,000.
