Italy marks Giorno della Memoria on 27 January.
Italy will mark the 81st anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau with a nationwide programme of events on Tuesday for International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Known in Italy as Il Giorno della Memoria, the annual day was established in 2000 and serves as a solemn commitment to preserve the memory of the Shoah and the victims of Nazi-Fascist persecution.
High-level institutional ceremonies are held across Italy each year, led by the traditional commemorative address from the country’s president Sergio Mattarella.
In Venice, a civic ceremony at the Teatro La Fenice features city leaders and the president of the Jewish Community, integrating music and readings to honour those deported from the city’s historic Ghetto district.
Rome’s Memoria genera futuro 2026 programme includes concerts at the Auditorium Parco della Musica and specialised exhibitions at the Casa della Memoria.
The capital has also unveiled new “Stumbling Stone memorials”, brass-capped cobblestones known as stolpersteine, outside the former homes of victims of the Holocaust.
In Milan, the Shoah Memorial at Platform 21 in the city’s central train station offers free admission and guided tours on Tuesday, focusing on the site from which thousands were deported.
The city also hosts the Memoria Genera Futuro initiative, featuring exhibitions and seminars for schools.
Many of these events will be screened by Italian state broadcaster RAI which will dedicate numerous programmes to the Giorno della Shoah on Tuesday.
Photo credit: Jason Wells / Shutterstock.com.
