You are now standing in one of the largest seaside squares in Europe: Piazza Unità d'Italia. Now, look at that building that directly faces the sea. That’s the Trieste city hall, and I want to tell you about something that happened in front of it. If you walk to it and look to your left, you’ll see the Column of Charles the Sixth. You’ll find a bilingual Italian and Hebrew plaque beneath it that marks the spot where Benito Mussolini, the Italian dictator, stood on a stage and delivered his only major speech dedicated entirely to the anti-Jewish Racial Laws. To understand this, let me start at the beginning. Mussolini was the founder of Fascism and ruled Italy as a dictator in the early twentieth century. Mussolini’s regime was totalitarian—controlling political life, suppressing opposition, and aligning closely with Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany in the years leading up to the Second World War. Mussolini came to this very square to deliver a major public speech. The purpose was to formally introduce and justify Italy’s anti-Jewish Racial Laws. With this speech, Mussolini aimed to make racism a central part of Fascist ideology and to present it as something “natural” and necessary for the nation. But why Trieste? That was a deliberate move. At the time, it had one of the largest and most established Jewish communities in Italy. By announcing these policies here, in the city’s main square, Mussolini ensured maximum symbolic impact. The speech also served as propaganda. It projected an image of strength and decisiveness, showing both Italians and the wider world that Fascism was willing to reshape society, even at great human cost. The aftermath was immediate. Within weeks, the regime passed the Racial Laws. These banned marriages between Jews and non-Jews, removed Jewish citizens from public offices and professions, and stripped many of their civil rights. Thousands of people were excluded from everyday life, becoming second-class citizens in their own country Walk with me now toward the centre of the square. I have marked it on the map to avoid any confusion. Our next stop is that ornate Baroque fountain here.