In 1938, Benito Mussolini ordered the town of Vasto (Chieti province) to assume the historical name, Istonio (from the Latin, Histonium). The town is more than 52 kilometers (32 miles) southeast of Chieti. In January 1944, the town retook the name Vasto. In mid-June 1940, the Fascist regime established a concentration camp in the area of the Istonio Marina (today: Vasto Marina) in two facilities: an unfinished hotel capable of accommodating approximately 100 people and a small private villa with room for 80 that was previously used by the Italian Customs Office. These facilities were just tens of meters apart from each other. Apart from a few “communal” internees or disgraced Fascists, the Istonio Marina camp received only civilian internees who were deemed to be political opponents and “aliens” from Venezia Giuglia; that is, Italians belonging to the Slovenian and Croatian ethnic minorities who were severely persecuted by the regime. Prominent internees at Istonio included the comm...