Romania comes to terms with monument to communism 30 years after Ceaușescu's death

Bucharest's notorious Palace of the Parliament bears witness to the folly of dictator shot dead on Christmas Day 1989

Bucharest's most notorious building sits atop a small hill in the centre of the city, appearing squat despite its 84-metre height, due to its vast length and breadth. The Palace of the Parliament, as it is now called, is a monument to dictatorial folly whose benefactor was executed before he could see it completed.

Christmas Day will mark 30 years since Romania's communist-era dictator, Nicolae CeauETMescu, was tried and shot dead along with his wife, as the last revolution of 1989 swept through what was perhaps the communist bloc's most repressive state.