UDINE, Italy, June 17 (UPI) -- An Italian man said he has hidden a suitcase Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini gave his father for safekeeping in 1945.
Rocco Della Morte, 74, of Friuli, is the son of Guglielmo Della Morte, who was the consul general in Berlin and the Fascist Party secretary there. The father vowed to Mussolini that he would keep the suitcase closed until 2025, ANSA reported Thursday.
The father died in 1961, and since then the son has kept his father's promise.
Rocco Della Morte said his father thought the case contained important documents and correspondence that Mussolini hoped to use in negotiating his surrender with the Allies, or copies of his diaries and other papers.
"Over the years I have always checked up on the suitcase, which is inside a zinc box for preservation, and it is still there in the Spluga Valley, just a few kilometers from the Swiss border," Rocco Della Morte told ANSA.
He said he decided to disclose the suitcase's existence because of his advanced age.
"Although I feel obligated to respect the promise made by my father, I've already made an arrangement for the opening of the suitcase and the publication of its contents," he said.
