ITALIAN fascists have caused outrage and stand accused of trying to “poison the well of history” over attempts to hijack commemorations marking the liberation of Italy on April 25.

Liberation Day, a national holiday, is the anniversary of the date on which the National Liberation Committee of Upper Italy (CLNAI) seized power and announced the death sentence for all fascist leaders, including Benito Mussolini, who was shot three days later.

It is usually celebrated with marches and rallies in most major towns and cities, with the main celebrations held in Milan.

This year’s events have been hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic, with Italy remaining in lockdown.

The National Association of the Partisans of Italy (ANPI) has instead called for people to come to their balconies at 3pm and sing the revolutionary song Bella Ciao.

“This year we cannot take to the streets, but we will not stop,” the veterans’ organisation said in a statement. “In an intense moment we will be together, with liberation in the heart. With its beautiful and unitary energy.”

But members of far-right group Forza Nuevo have said that they will take to the squares in defiance of the lockdown.

They insist that the date should commemorate all victims of the war, branding the partisans cowards and the enemies of the Italian people.

Some Facebook groups have compared the Covid-19 lockdown measures to living under a dictatorship and instead want the day to be used to remember all victims of the disease.

But they stand accused of attacking the “symbolic day of resistance” in a bid to turn it into a “black day” for their own political ends.

Trade-union confederation CGIL said that the celebrations would “renew our commitment to defend and promote the memory and strength of those ideals that united the Italians 75 years ago and to which today we, in a time so troubled and dramatic for our country, are convinced that we can do it together, and we will build a better future for everyone.”