Footsteps of WWII · Italy
Museum of the Liberation of Rome (Via Tasso)
Museum · Sep 1943 – Jun 1944
The story
This late-1930s apartment block near St John Lateran was first rented to the German embassy. After the Germans took Rome in September 1943, the SS security police and SD under Herbert Kappler made it their headquarters, with a prison at number 145. More than 2,000 anti-fascists, resisters and Jews passed through its cells; many were tortured, and some were later shot at Forte Bravetta or the Fosse Ardeatine. When the Germans fled in June 1944 they left some prisoners behind. Princess Josepha Ruspoli donated the flats to the state in 1950, and the museum opened on 4 June 1955.
What to look for
Small former cells on several floors, some kept with prisoners' scratched graffiti on the walls. Displays cover the occupation, the round-up of Rome's Jews, the Resistance and the Ardeatine massacre, with documents, photographs and personal objects.
Plan your visit
Open daily 9:00–19:00, including Sundays and holidays; closed some holidays and 14–16 August. Free (voluntary donation). Booking required only for groups over six. Free guided visit first Sunday of the month at 10:30. Metro Manzoni.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Fosse Ardeatine Mausoleum, Rome · 3 km
- Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno · 49 km
- Anzio Beachhead Museum (Museo dello Sbarco) · 50 km
All 160 sites in Footsteps of WWII →
Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.
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