Italy 1943–1945
Museo storico della Liberazione, Via Tasso
Museum
The story
The building where Herbert Kappler's security police imprisoned and tortured some 2,000 people during the occupation, among them many of the Fosse Ardeatine victims. The cells are preserved with the prisoners' messages scratched on the walls, and the museum is the best place in Rome to understand the occupation.
What to look for
Read the graffiti in the cells, and the sections on the Resistance and the persecution of Rome's Jews.
Plan your visit
Via Tasso 145, near Manzoni–Museo della Liberazione metro. Free; the museum's website gives daily 09:00–19:00, closed around Christmas, New Year, Easter and 14–16 August. Check before you go.
- Open
- Daily 09:00–19:00 incl. Sundays; closed 25–26 Dec, 1 Jan, Easter, 14–16 Aug
- Price
- Free; voluntary donations welcome
- Booking
- Not needed for individuals; groups of more than 6 should book
Checked September 2026 from official sources: visitlazio.com, cultura.gov.it. Things change, so check before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome · 2 km
- Via Rasella, Rome · 2 km
- Portico d'Ottavia and the Jewish Ghetto · 2 km
- Porta San Paolo, Rome · 2 km
- Rome War Cemetery, Testaccio · 3 km
- Mausoleo delle Fosse Ardeatine, Rome · 4 km
All 96 sites in Italy 1943–1945 →
Into Europe: Italy 1943–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The places of the Allied campaign in Italy, from the Sicily landings of July 1943 through Salerno, the Winter Line, Ortona, Cassino and Anzio, Rome, the Gothic Line and the final battles on the Senio and the Po in April 1945.
Open the guide