Memory of the period of political violence known as the anni di piombo continues to form part of the neofascist-antifascist antagonism in contemporary Italy. One of the most notable tragedies from that time occurred in Rome on 16 April 1973, when Stefano and Virgilio Mattei (sons of a local leader of the Movimento Sociale Italiano, MSI) died in an arson attack on the family home. In the wake of the attack, a campaign of misinformation and a failed judicial process created an incorrect but dominant narrative that implicated the MSI in the fire that killed Stefano and Virgilio. This article examines the subsequent construction of a counter-memory by the MSI leadership, who immediately cast the attack as a party tragedy and the deaths as martyrdom. It also considers the subsequent antagonistic approach to remembering adopted by neofascist groups in commemoration of the Mattei brothers following the dissolution of the MSI in 1995, and the ongoing incorporation of the brothers’ memory into fascist martyrology dating back to Mussolini's regime.

This article analyses the role commemoration of Fascist and anti-fascist martyrs played in the battle for political influence in the Italian diaspora of the United States during Mussolini’s early rule. It is structured around two case studies: the socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti, killed in Rome in 1924, and Giuseppe Carisi and Michele Ambrosoli, two Blackshirts killed in the Bronx on their way to the Memorial Day parade of 1927 in New York. Through an examination of sites of memory and commemoration ceremonies held in both Italy and the U.S., it adds a transnational element to the study of the role of secular martyrdom in the construction of collective identity, concluding that the transnational exchange evident in commemoration of both case studies added to the propagandistic power of the martyrological narrative by drawing meaning from geographical distance from Italy.

The year 2020 was devastating to electronic music festivals and their attendees as the COVID-19 pandemic forced most festivals to cancel their events. Because attendance at these festivals is a sacred experience for many of their participants, this manifested as a loss for participants. Tomorrowland, however, created a virtual festival through filming DJ performances and working with visual effects teams. Tomorrowland Around the World functioned to constitute a global public. This paper will situate the electronic music scene in a spiritual context that promotes the well-being of its participants. Next, the paper will explain how the DJ performances worked with the visual production teams to create a sacred virtual space that promoted unity, love, life, and a general sense of well-being.

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