1978-2008. At nr.8 of Via Montalcini, the apartment building where Aldo Moro was held prisoner

The apartment building of Via Montalcini was shown in the movie "Buongiorno Notte" by Marco Bellocchio. The interior was also somehow partially seen in the terrible images in the photos sent by the Red Brigades to the media at the time of th kidnapping.

We have looked at them innummerable times, God only
knows how many more times his family looked in anguish at them.

So far, nobody the we know of has been alloed inside the apartment with a camera. When the location was identified through the confession of th "men of the Red Brigades" (so defined in Pope Paul VI’s famous plea to them prior to assassination) the apartment had been sold to unaware privates.

Last December 31- don’t judge me crazy for doing this of all things in the last day of the year – I drove to find Via Montalcini.

It is located in the borough of Magliana Nuova, and is kind of insulated, with dim street lights, in the middle of nowhere.

The buildings occupy just one side of the street because in front there is only a small church and a long string of brushwood:a city landscape that I thought belonging to the past.

Nr 8 is something you would never imagine as a prison. It is a typical architecture of the "roman" expansion of the seventies if you know what I mean.

Seen from the main entrance-once through the gate- the appearance is that of a pretentious middle class apartment house.

The hallway is very well kept, with ornamental plants on both sides of the passageway to stairs and elevator.

While entering, I trembled. It seemed unbelievable to me that everything had been kept in place (lights and wooden wall coverings as well) exactly as it was during the ferocious march-april 1978 timeframe.

Yet, that was it as it is nowadays.

Here you can find some photos.

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