At Fossoli, a few kilometres from Carpi, the local people can point the way to a series of tumble-down buildings abandoned to total neglect; this is what remains of the Fossoli holding camp, at one time the first stop in prisoners' journey to Germany.

For decades, nothing has been done to preserve these remains, but inevitably the chance visitor wonders why the authorities have waited so long to do something to conserve the Fossoli camp, one of the few on Italian soil. Or perhaps this neglect has a symbolic significance, and time and the nettles are deliberately being left to destroy the last traces of this reminder of man's inhumanity to man. In 1989, a competition was organised for proposals as to how to manage the site in order to provide facilities for trippers from the nearby towns while preserving the camp's historic significance. The project by R. Maestro was selected as winner, whose realisation will require large amounts of money.

At present, visitors can view the Fossoli Camp accompanied by the guides of the Carpi Museum of the Deportee.