Bolzano, Italy - Some 3,500 marksmen have held a protest "against fascism" and have demanded that relics from the era of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini be removed from buildings in the city of Bolzano in the German-speaking part of northern Italy.

The protest, held Saturday, was the largest ever held in the area, Suedtirol Online reported Sunday.

The marksmen have been committed to defending their Tyrolean identity in South Tyrol, also known in Italy as Bolzano-Bozen, since 1919.

"Italy is the only EU country that 65 years after the fall of Mussolini's regime has not distanced itself from fascism and has never apologized for the crimes of this regime among the Tyroleans," marksman commander Paul Bacher said.

Bacher also criticized the fact that no leading politician seemed to care about the fact that Mussolini's image greeted people "from one of the most important buildings in Bolzano."

The protestors demanded that all names and titles from the fascist era be abolished.

They also called for the "political reunification of Tyrol."

Marksmen from Austria's North and East Tyrol, as well as from the German state of Bavaria, were present at the protest.

There were no attacks from "Italian-speaking right-wingers" or skirmishes of any kind despite tensions, the report said.

Tyrol was split between Austria and Italy after the end of the First World War. (dpa)