Images of a sun-drenched Italian beach began flooding media outlets across the world on July 19. Unlike most photographs of the idyllic Mediterranean shores that usually adorn the travel sections of newspapers and glossy magazines, however, the pictures – showing two young girls' bodies laid out on the sand next to apparently oblivious sunbathers – shocked those who saw them.

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The government rolled out plans to identify Roma living in the country at the beginning of June. All Roma, including children, were supposed to be fingerprinted and to fill in forms specifying their "ethnicity" and religion. The census has sparked outrage on the national and international scene, with Terry Davis, the secretary general of the Council of Europe, stating that the Italian government plan "invites historical analogies which are so obvious that they do not even have to be spelled out".

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/24/italy.roma

Antiziganism is alive and well in Italy and Berlusconi is living up to Il Duce's example.