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Montreal, Quebec, Canada | | Date: 1930s | Notes: In 1930, upon commissioning Guido Nincheri to paint the ceiling of the Church of the Madonna della Difesa, the then acting committee of the church, as well as the archbishop of Montreal, asked the artist to include a portrait of Benito Mussolini in his work. Even though Guido Nincheri did not want to include the fascist leader in his fresco, he was pressured to do so by those who were paying the bills. Nonetheless, in the 1940s he was arrested by the RCMP as a fascist sympathizer and sent to Petawawa, Ontario where Canada's infamous prisoner of war camp had been set up. The artist spent three months there, until a former justice minister of Canada, convinced of his innocence, helped him get released. During World War II the RCMP hung a blank canvas over the portrait of the dictator (Mussolini is the one seen sitting on the horse on the Church of the Madonna della Difesa's ceiling fresco), worried the mere image of the fascist leader, might incite the Italian-Canadian community to side with the enemy. After the war Guido Nincheri continued to work in Quebec, producing many beautiful frescoes. For more information on the artist visit: www.echeat.com/essay (Canada's Michelangelo - The Life of Guido Nincheri).
| Contributed by: Mary Melfi
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Montreal, Quebec, Canada | | Date: 1920s | Notes: The statue of the Madonna della Difesa which rests in the church by the same name in Montreal, Quebec is a copy of the one found in the Sanctuary of Maria Santissima della Difesa in Casacalenda, Molise, Italy. The Church of the Madonna della Difesa, the oldest in Quebec, was built, on the most part, by migrant workers who came from the region of Campobasso, Molise.
Photo: by the contributor. | Contributed by: Mary Melfi
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Little Italy, Montreal, Quebec | | Date: 1910s | | Notes: A copy of the famous painting of Italian-born Mother Cabrini, patron saint of immigrants, can be found in the Church of the Madonna della Difesa in Montreal's Little Italy. For more information on Mother Cabrini, the first American to be canonized, visit: www.mothercabrini.org. | Contributed by: Mary Melfi
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Montreal, Quebec, Canada | | Date: inauguarated in 1960 | Notes: The Church of the Madonna de la Consolata was built to accommodate the growing Italian community in the late 1950s.
Photo: Mary Melfi. | Contributed by: Mary Melfi
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Montreal, Quebec, Canada | | Date: inaugurated in 1966 | | Notes: Our Lady of Pompei Church is located at 2875 Sauve Est. (Tel: 514-388-9271). Built in the 1960s to accommodate a growing Italian population, it has become one of the most influential Italian churches in the city. The church gears most of its services to first generation Italian-Canadians who feel comfortable in its milieu. | Contributed by: Mary Melfi
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