Italy's martyrs for peace

This chapter analyses a series of dark events held to honour the Italian victims of the 2003 Nasiriyah Massacre, a suicide attack on the Italian military police headquarters in Iraq that killed 19 Italians and marked the nation’s largest loss of military life since World War II. Amidst vociferous and sustained public opposition to the war, the Italian government had declared a policy of ‘non-belligerence’, presenting its role in Iraq as part of a humanitarian mission – a narrative challenged when Italy came under attack. Through analysis of a series of state-organised commemorative events, including the repatriation of the bodies and the funeral, alongside close readings of newspaper coverage and an iconic photograph, this chapter identifies the role historic narratives of patriotic sacrifice played in representing the dead as martyrs for peace, reasserting Italy’s humanitarian mission at a time of division.