Workers’ paradise: Italy’s communist HQ to be turned into a five star hotel

The historic seat of the defunct Italian Communist Party (PCI) is set to become a luxury five star hotel in the bustling heart of Rome, the property owner Tosinvest has revealed.

Designed and built in the late 1930s by left-wing brothers Alfio and Alvaro Marchini, the building was erected on Via delle Botteghe Oscure – Dark Shops Road – named after the dingy windowless businesses on the street.

In 1946, soon after the end of the Second World War and the killing of fascist leader Benito Mussolini, the building was purchased by the recently rebranded PCI.

An unlikely legend had it that the restoration of the building had been financed in part with gold stolen by partisan fighters from Mussolini after the dictator’s death.

In time the imposing structure became a popular backdrop to the struggles and successes of the PCI, up until the party’s demise and dissolution in 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Though it never formed part of a government, the PCI garnered widespread support in the aftermath of the Second World War, in part due to Italy’s knee-jerk reaction to fascism.

A testament to the legacy of the PCI, founding member Antonio Gramsci, is considered one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. A vocal critic of Mussolini, he was jailed by the dictator’s regime in 1926 and would remain a prisoner until his death in 1937.

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At one point it was the largest communist party in the west, with more than two million members. In the 1976 general election, the party won more than 12 million votes across Italy.

The irony of a building that housed some of Italy’s most popular communist figures is not lost on most. One social media user called it a “victory of capitalism over communism”.

Another bemoaned a missed opportunity: “It could have been a museum… it could have told the story of Italy’s 20th century. But in the age of the market, only busts and walls remain, history must disappear.”

The prime real estate, which has also housed Ernst and Young and Italy’s trade association of banks, is expected to undergo a restoration and will include 70 rooms as well as a terrace restaurant.

The red flag of the revolutionary Paris Commune and a bust of Gramsci are expected to stay. An opening date is not yet known.

The announcement has left many wondering what the founding fathers of the PCI might have to say about their headquarters turning into a place reserved for the rich. One thing is certain, Gramsci’s bust is set to make an excellent mantlepiece.