Rachele Mussolini
Rachele Mussolini , née Guidi (born April 11, 1890 in Predappio , Romagna , Kingdom of Italy , † October 30, 1979 in Forlì ) was the wife of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini .
Youth and marriage with Benito Mussolini
Her parents were the farmer Agostino Guidi and his wife Anna Lombardi. After the death of her father, Rachele's mother became the lover of the widowed Alessandro Mussolini, also living in Predappio, the father of Benito Mussolini. In 1910 mother and daughter moved into the house of the Mussolini.
Benito Mussolini had known Rachele Guidi, who was seven years his junior, for a long time. A relationship developed between the two. On September 1, 1910, their daughter Edda was born from this connection . The child's birth certificate contained the father's name, but the mother's entry was missing because the parents were married. At that time, Italian law made this regulation possible, which is unusual from today's perspective.
At the same time, Benito Mussolini had a love affair with the beautician Ida Dalser . It can be assumed that the two married in 1914. The official records of this marriage were probably later destroyed. On November 11, 1915, Benito Albino was born as their child. However, the relationship did not last. On December 17, 1915, shortly after the birth of Benito Albino, Benito Mussolini and Rachele Guidi married in front of the registry office in Treviglio ( Lombardy ). On September 27, 1916, their second child, Vittorio , was born . There is no information about a divorce from Ida Dalser. The sources are uncertain, but it can be assumed that Benito Mussolini committed bigamy at the time . He notarized his paternity in the Benito Albino case and made regular cash payments. Ida Dalser, who was prosecuted by Benito for several years, ended in a mental hospital in San Clemente (Venice) , where she died in 1937 at the age of 57. The son Benito Albino was also politically persecuted and presumably murdered on August 26, 1942 at the age of 27 in the Limbiate mental hospital .
After Mussolini came to power, Rachele and Benito confirmed their marriage in December 1925 with a church wedding. Benito Mussolini cultivated various love affairs and liked to boast of his successes with women. During the time of fascism , Rachele was seen by the public as an exemplary housewife and mother. The marriage has a total of five children:
- Edda (1910–1995), later Edda Ciano, Countess of Cortellazzo and Buccari , after marrying Count Galeazzo Ciano ;
- Vittorio (1916–1997), film producer;
- Bruno (1918–1941), pilot in the Italian Air Force ;
- Romano (1927–2006), jazz pianist, married to Anna Maria Scicolone, the younger sister of the film actress Sophia Loren , and father of the future Senator Alessandra Mussolini ;
- Anna Maria (1929–1968), television presenter.
On April 27, 1945, Benito Mussolini and his then lover Claretta Petacci were captured by partisans in Dongo on Lake Como and executed the following day together with his escort.
post war period
Rachele was not part of her husband's company at the time. She fled to Switzerland shortly after the end of the Second World War . She was also captured near Lake Como. She was handed over to the US Army and imprisoned on the island of Ischia for several months .
Rachele later opened a small restaurant in her hometown of Predappio. Ten years after her husband's death, she was allowed to transfer his body to the Predappio cemetery. Their restaurant developed into a place of pilgrimage for political supporters of fascism . Partly with the support of third parties, she wrote several books about the time with Benito Mussolini. In 1974, for example, her biography appeared under the title “Benito ed io: una vita insieme” (German: “Mussolini: An intimate biography”), which she wrote together with Albert Zarca, the author of a biography about Benito Mussolini. Rachele Mussolini died in Forli in 1979 at the age of 89.
Web links
credentials
- ^ A b Richard Owen: Power-mad Mussolini sacrificed wife and son , The Times. January 13, 2005. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011.
- ^ Roberto Olla: Mussolini's complicated love life . October 17, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
- ^ Rupert Colley: Rachele Mussolini - a summary . October 30, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
- ↑ Rachele Mussolini, Albert Zarca: Mussolini: an intimate biography . Morrow, 1974, ISBN 978-0-688-00266-4 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mussolini, Rachele |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Guidi, Rachele (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian wife of the dictator Benito Mussolini |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 11, 1890 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Predappio , Romagna Region , Kingdom of Italy |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 30, 1979 |
| Place of death | Forli , Italy |