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A secret bomb shelter built by Mussolini in the heart of Mt. Soratte, 45 kms north of Rome, is now open for guided tours. The labyrinth of tunnels, which extends over four kms, was created as a complete underground city, with independent water supply, drains, electric generator, heating and supplies storage to allow two months survival for some hundred top government officials in the event of devastating bomb attacks on the capital.
During the last war, it was taken over by the German High Command that occupied the bunker for some ten months during the Allied advance. An intriguing legend claims that part of the gold reserves stolen by the Nazis from the Bank of Italy was walled up in one of the passages. At the time of the Cold War, a part of the bunker was transformed into a radio-active fallout shelter, again to protect the Italian government in the event of nuclear warfare.
Visits are available at weekends during the summer and upon request.
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Info: Tel. ++39.380.3838102                             www.bunkersoratte.it      Â
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