“A new monument to Aldo Moro was found vandalized on Thursday, less than a week after it was inaugurated to mark the 40th anniversary of the former prime minister’s kidnapping by far-left terrorists.

The memorial in Via Mario Fani, the north-western Rome street where the two-time former PM was ambushed and five of his police escort killed on March 16th, 1978, was discovered at around 2 am painted with the letters BR in red.

• Italy remembers Aldo Moro, the former prime minister killed during Italy’s ‘Years of Lead’

The initials refer to the Brigate Rosse or Red Brigades, the armed group that took Moro hostage in revenge for his role brokering a deal with Italian Communists to back a new government led by Christian Democrats.

The area has been blocked off and carabinieri are investigating. ”