Flowers adorned the street and the high tufa walls of Chiesa di San Domenico in Orvieto. Mourners crowded the doors and laid hands on the light wooden coffin as it passed them by. Once it was loaded in the hearse, the crowd adorned in black dispersed, melting back into the hustle and bustle of provincial town life.
I took another sip of the cappuccino and listened to the haunting toll of the bells. It turned out the departed man was a retired teacher in his late nineties and many of the mourners were former students come to pay homage to their beloved instructor.
Half the grand structure had been deliberately destroyed by Mussolini and his fascists in a period locals simply refer to as “the war”.
The front facade of Chiesa di San Domenico in the Commune of Orvieto, Province of Terni, Region of Umbria, of Italy
Out of the rubble, the fascists built a school for girls in their neo-roman architectural style. There, they emphasized women’s roles as subservient to the men who were subservient to the State. Physical fitness, athleticism, and other prowesses were strained in the curriculum. They learned “traditional” housewife activities, like knitting, gardening, sewing, cooking, cleaning, etc.
Allegiance to the Pope and to God and His Church was replaced with allegiance to Mussolini and his fascists. Chiesa di San Domenico and the present-day police station in Orvieto is one of the best physical examples of this fact that I can imagine.