Possible, hadn’t heard that before, but mostly I take PC stuff about the Duce with a big grain of salt. I’ve also seen a rumor (from a 1930s newspaper) that the Muss-boy’s diggers uncovered a pile of ancient dead guys from the arena, and that the bodies had somehow been perfectly preserved, and that exposure to the air made them putrify. :’)
IMV Mussolini would have had a much stronger impact on the world had he, like Franco, remained neutral in WWII. His 8 million bayonets [sic] contributed little to the North African campaign, their participation in the overthrow of France was window dressing at best, and they were a genuine liability in the Balkan campaigns. About the only long-term contribution he made was all the archaeological stuff he had carried out, and I think he set a positive precedent for Italian relations with the Vatican.
http://www.ostia-antica.org/intro.htm — Truly scientific research started in 1907 by Dante Vaglieri. The north-east part of the city was now excavated systematically. Vaglieri died in 1913. The year before, the first monograph about Ostia had been published: “Ostia, Colonia Romana”, by Ludovico Paschetto. Important work was also done by the French archaeologist Jerome Carcopino. Vaglieri was succeeded by Guido Calza, who was supported by architect Italo Gismondi and inspector Raffaele Finelli. Slowly more ruins were unearthed. In 1930 a supplement to the CIL appeared. In 1938 one-third of the city had been excavated. But then extensive, hurried excavations began, lasting until 1942. The initiator was Mussolini, who wanted to present Ostia during a world-fair (Esposizione Universale di Roma (EUR)). The excavated area was more than doubled. More than 600.000 cubic metres of earth were removed, that reached a height of 4 to 12 metres above the ancient street level. Needless to say that much information was not recorded during these five years. The world-fair never took place. Calza died in 1946.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostia_Antica#Sacking_and_excavation — Sacking and excavation: In the Middle Ages, bricks from buildings in Ostia were used for several other occasions. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was entirely built of material originally belonging to Ostia.[citation needed] A “local sacking” was carried out by baroque architects, who used the remains as a sort of marble storehouse for the palazzi they were building in Rome. Soon after, foreign explorers came in search of ancient statues and objects. The Papacy started organizing its own investigations with Pope Pius VII; under Mussolini massive excavations were undertaken from 1938 to 1942. The first volume of the official series Scavi di Ostia appeared in 1954; it was devoted to a topography of the town by Italo Gismondi and after a hiatus the research still continues today. Though untouched areas adjacent to the original excavations were left undisturbed awaiting a more precise dating of Roman pottery types, the “Baths of the Swimmer”, named for the mosaic figure in the apodyterium, were meticulously excavated, 1966-70 and 1974-75, in part as a training ground for young archaeologists and in part to establish a laboratory of well-understood finds as a teaching aid. It has been estimated that two thirds of the ancient town have currently been found.
I don't agree much with Pat Buchanan, but his new book, "The Unnecessary War," provides some interesting details on how Mussolini was unnecessarily run out of Italy's First World War alliance with Britain & France, and pushed toward a new alliance with Hitler's Germany.
Clearly Mussolini was unwise, but a more skillful British diplomacy might have kept him on the democratic allies' side, says Pat.