Italy’s ruling Brothers of Italy get together is trying to downplay its neo-Fascist roots with an annual honest that draws vacationers, households with younger kids, and people with little interest in politics.
In the gardens round Rome’s Castel Sant’Angelo monument, kids race to achieve the Christmas skating rink, oblivious to the blue indicators round them proclaiming “Italy together with her head held excessive”.
Welcome to Atreju, a political winter honest organised by Brothers of Italy – the far-right get together led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – that could be a vacation showcase for the power of the fitting.
Once a distinct segment gathering of activists, the competition has drawn international figures, from Elon Musk to Britain’s former conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak. This 12 months, it enjoys a primary spot within the gardens of Castel Sant’Angelo, as soon as the mausoleum to Emperor Hadrian and a palace for popes.
With a Christmas tree of flashing lights, skating rink, playground with swings and cubicles promoting ornaments and nativity scenes, the nine-day competition is a household affair, with hints of its political nature mendacity just below the floor.
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Among the get together members sporting badges and scores of enthusiastic volunteers from the get together’s youth wing on Atreju’s opening weekend had been voters from each side absorbing the festive ambiance.
“It’s a really cheerful surroundings, household pleasant, for everybody,” mentioned Ilaria D’Ambrosio, who walked her canines by the grounds together with her household.
The Tuscany resident, 46, informed AFP she had voted for Meloni and was happy together with her report to date.
Italy is “bettering just a little bit”, she mentioned: “We see just a little gentle on the finish of the tunnel.”
Meloni resulting from seem
Absent on the occasion had been Brothers of Italy flags, whose tricolour flames hyperlink the get together with its neo-Fascist roots.
But the again aspect of the imposing Roman-era monument was illuminated with the phrases, “You’ve grow to be sturdy Atreju”.
READ ALSO: Why is PM Meloni’s get together brand so controversial in Italy?
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Mario Trupo, 63, mentioned he was on the park out of “easy curiosity.”
“I mentioned, ‘It’s unusual they acquired the authorisation to do that proper below Castel Sant’Angelo. And my spouse mentioned, ‘You cannot say no to Giorgia Meloni’!” Trupo mentioned.
The Roman mentioned he didn’t vote. “They’re all the identical,” he mentioned of Italy’s political class.
People ice skate on the Atreju competition in central Rome on December 7, 2025. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP.
Meloni will shut the competition on the ultimate day on Sunday, with different invited friends this 12 months together with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and French hard-right lawmaker Marion Marechal.
Past audio system have included Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Argentina’s President Javier Milei and Steve Bannon, former political strategist to US President Donald Trump.
Italian opposition chief Elly Schlein of the centre-left Democratic Party declined an invite this 12 months.
Charlie Kirk… and Pasolini
Meloni organised the primary Atreju assembly in 1998 when she was nationwide coordinator for the youth division of the National Alliance, a precursor of Brothers of Italy.
The identify comes from the kid warrior protagonist of “The Neverending Story”, a 1979 novel by German author Michael Ende within the fantasy style, one beloved of Italy’s proper.
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The occasion has gained prominence as Meloni’s get together has grown to grow to be the most well-liked get together in Italy in 2022 elections.
Atreju’s swap in 2021 from September to December, with all of the accompanying Christmas points of interest, additionally attracted extra individuals.
“The political aspect would not curiosity me,” mentioned one girl who declined to present her identify, snapping images of her daughter wobbling precariously on ice skates.
Others, like New Yorker Amanda Singh, 25, had been unaware of the politics on provide together with the roasted pig, fried pizza and beer.
“You would not have recognized it was political,” she informed AFP. “I find it irresistible… everybody is sweet!”
On the sidelines, a cultural “hegemony” wall displayed images of figures who “put braveness, heroism, and freedom earlier than any political logic”.
Included had been nationwide battle hero Gabriele D’Annunzio, assassinated MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk and — surprisingly — Pier Paolo Pasolini, the poet and filmmaker kicked out of the Communist get together for being homosexual however who remained strongly related to the left.
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Another wall labelled “hate phrases of the left” confirmed statements made by opposition figures — most directed at Meloni — with votes for his or her stage of “originality” and “rancour”.
From a hut close by, a Father Christmas watched the scene. What did he make of all of it?
“Santa Claus doesn’t vote. Santa Claus is right here for the enjoyment of the kids,” he mentioned.
By AFP’s Alexandria Sage.
