14 DAY TRIAL // The news that Benito Mussolini's 12th and so-called most secret bunker was discovered in Rome is now making headlines. By the looks of it, specialists first stumbled upon the bunker back in 2011, yet for one reason or another, it took a while for the researchers to go public with the news of their having made this discovery.
Information made available to the general public says that the bunker is located under the historic Palazzo Venezia, and that those wishing to access it must first go through a wooden trap-door whose dimensions are one meter by one meter (approximately 3.2 feet by 3.2 feet).
In fact, it was their finding this trap door which ultimately led City Superintendent Anna Imponente and architect Carlo Serafini to the discovery of the bunker, World Crunch reports.
Thus, said specialists came across the door while busy inspecting the caverns in the Palazzo Venezia. Shortly after opening it and exploring the passages hidden behind it, Anna Imponente and Carlo Serafini reached Mussolini's last bunker.
The same source informs us that the bunker is basically a square that had been divided into a total of nine self-standing spaces with the help of partitions.
“When we saw the concrete, it was all clear. It’s the twelfth bunker of Rome – Benito Mussolini’s last bunker,” Carlo Serafini later told members of the press.
“The walls rest on the foundations of an old tower, and are almost two meters (roughly 6.5 feet) thick in some places. It would have probably only been designed for Mussolini himself and one other person; more than likely his mistress, Claretta Petacci,” said architect went on to argue.
Those who got the chance to explore the bunker explain that this hiding place is pretty much incomplete, meaning that it lacks both a sewer system and electric wiring. Furthermore, it has no floors.
Because of this, specialists suspect that the bunker was abandoned long before workers had the chance to finish it.
The bunker, which is located at a depth of approximately 15 meters (almost 50 feet) below the ground, will go on display for the public later this year, most likely in autumn.