A powerful mural depicting two of Italy’s last remaining Holocaust survivors, Liliana Segre and Sami Modiano, has found a new home in Rome’s Jewish Ghetto district after facing vandalism in Milan.

Titled Anti-Semitism, History Repeating, the artwork by pop artist aleXsandro Palombo portrays Segre and Modiano in striped concentration camp uniforms and bulletproof vests adorned with yellow Stars of David.

The mural was acquired by the city of Rome and was officially inaugurated in the presence of Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, the president of the Shoah Museum Foundation, Mario Venezia, and the head of the Jewish community in Rome, Victor Fadlun.

The unveiling coincided with the upcoming International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The mural now stands under the plaque commemorating the Nazi roundup of Rome’s Jews in 1943, a tragic event that resulted in the deportation of over 1,000 individuals, with only 16 surviving.

After being defaced in Milan, the mural was recreated by Palombo and relocated to the Jewish Ghetto in Rome, near the Portico d’Ottavia monument.

Mayor Gualtieri emphasized the importance of preserving memory through art, stating that the mural serves as a powerful warning against anti-Semitism and denialism.

The artwork will remain on display outdoors until 2 February before finding a permanent home in the Casina dei Vallati, managed by the Shoah Museum Foundation in Rome’s Jewish quarter.

About the Survivors

Liliana Segre and Sami Modiano, both 94 years old, survived the horrors of the Holocaust. Modiano, deported to Auschwitz with his family in 1944, was the sole survivor.

Segre, deported to Auschwitz at the age of 13, tragically lost her father Alberto in the concentration camp.

The mural stands as a poignant reminder of their resilience and the importance of never forgetting the atrocities of the past.

Photo Credit: Wanted in Rome, 25 January 2025