MILAN, Italy (JTA) — Italian authorities will investigate a self-described “Nazi” doctor in northern Italy who keeps a bust of Hitler in his office and displays fascist propaganda in his waiting room.
Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin has called for a report on the activities of Dr. Gianantonio Valli, 64, of Cuveglio, a small town near the Swiss border, according to the British newspaper The Independent.
Jewish lawmaker Emanuele Fiano in a statement last week to the Italian Parliament had called on Italy’s interior and health ministers to investigate whether the behavior of Valli is compatible with that of a national health physician.
Fiano said Valli was “one of the principal theorists in our country of Holocaust denial, declared himself to be a ‘Nazi-inspired fascist’ and publicly manifests xenophobic, racist and anti-Semitic ideas.”
Meanwhile, La Repubblica said Italy’s national medical association planned to probe Valli’s activities to determine if they run afoul of the guidelines for medical professionals. The newspaper said that in Cuveglio, local citizens were circulating a petition in support of Valli.
The daily La Repubblica quoted Valli, who has described himself as “completely fascist — that is, Nazi,” as saying “I see myself in the tradition of the pagan realism, and I’m radically opposed to all aberrant Jewish religion and philosophy.”
La Repubblica described xenophobic and Holocaust-denying pamphlets and other material on display in the waiting room of Valli’s office.
Valli, who has authored a number of such publications, confirmed to the newspaper that he had a bust of Hitler on display in his upstairs library. A year ago, at a rally in Milan, Valli gave a lengthy speech accusing a Jewish-run lobby of plotting to take over the world.
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