Clara Petacci: Difference between revisions
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| birth_date = {{Birth date|1912|02|28|df=y}} | | birth_date = {{Birth date|1912|02|28|df=y}} | ||
| birth_place = | | birth_place = Rome, [[Kingdom of Italy]] | ||
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1945|04|28|1912|02|28|df=y}} | | death_date = {{Death date and age|1945|04|28|1912|02|28|df=y}} | ||
| death_place = [[Giulino di Mezzegra]], [[Italian Social Republic]] | | death_place = [[Giulino di Mezzegra]], [[Italian Social Republic]] | ||
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| partner = [[Benito Mussolini]] (1933–1945) | | partner = [[Benito Mussolini]] (1933–1945) | ||
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'''Clara''' "'''Claretta'''" '''Petacci''' ({{IPA|it|klaˈretta peˈtattʃi|lang}}; 28 February 1912 – 28 April 1945) was a [[Mistress (lover)|mistress]] of the Italian dictator [[Benito Mussolini]]. She was killed by [[Italian resistance|Italian partisans]] during [[Death of Benito Mussolini|Mussolini's summary execution]]. | {{Expand Italian|topic=bio}} | ||
'''Clara''' "'''Claretta'''" '''Petacci''' ({{IPA|it|klaˈretta peˈtattʃi|lang}}; 28 February 1912 – 28 April 1945) was a [[Mistress (lover)|mistress]] of the Italian dictator [[Benito Mussolini]]. She was killed by [[Italian resistance movement|Italian partisans]] during [[Death of Benito Mussolini|Mussolini's summary execution]]. | |||
==Early life== | ==Early life== | ||
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Petacci had a long-standing relationship with Mussolini while he was married to [[Rachele Mussolini]]. Petacci was 28 years younger than Mussolini.<ref>{{in lang|es}} Giuseppina Persichetti, ''La enamorada de Mussolini'', Madrid, Ediciones Caballero Audaz, 1947.</ref> They met for the first time in April 1932 when Mussolini, driving with an aide to Ostia, overtook a car occupied by the twenty-year-old Petacci and family members. She called out, "Duce! Duce!" and when he stopped, told him that she had been writing to him since her early teens.<ref>{{cite book|first=Max|last=Gallo|page=216|title=Mussolini's Italy|date=1974 |publisher=Abelard-Schuman |isbn=0-200-72140-2}}</ref> | Petacci had a long-standing relationship with Mussolini while he was married to [[Rachele Mussolini]]. Petacci was 28 years younger than Mussolini.<ref>{{in lang|es}} Giuseppina Persichetti, ''La enamorada de Mussolini'', Madrid, Ediciones Caballero Audaz, 1947.</ref> They met for the first time in April 1932 when Mussolini, driving with an aide to Ostia, overtook a car occupied by the twenty-year-old Petacci and family members. She called out, "Duce! Duce!" and when he stopped, told him that she had been writing to him since her early teens.<ref>{{cite book|first=Max|last=Gallo|page=216|title=Mussolini's Italy|date=1974 |publisher=Abelard-Schuman |isbn=0-200-72140-2}}</ref> | ||
In 1934, Petacci married Italian Air Force officer Riccardo Federici, but she parted ways with her husband when he was sent to [[Tokyo]] as Air Attaché in 1936.<ref>{{cite book|last=Boswort|first=R.J.B.|title=Mussolini|year=2010|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]]}}</ref> Petacci then became the mistress of the fifty-three-year-old Mussolini, visiting his headquarters in the {{lang|it|[[Palazzo Venezia]]|italic=no}}, where a | In 1934, Petacci married Italian Air Force officer Riccardo Federici, but she parted ways with her husband when he was sent to [[Tokyo]] as Air Attaché in 1936.<ref>{{cite book|last=Boswort|first=R.J.B.|title=Mussolini|year=2010|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]]}}</ref> Petacci then became the mistress of the fifty-three-year-old Mussolini, visiting his large headquarters in the {{lang|it|[[Palazzo Venezia]]|italic=no}}, where a private apartment was reserved for her. Her infatuation with Mussolini appears to have been genuine and permanent. The affair became widely known and members of the Petacci family, notably her brother, [[Marcello Petacci|Marcello]], were able to benefit financially and professionally by influence-selling.<ref>{{cite book|first=Max|last=Gallo|pages=270–271|title=Mussolini's Italy|date=1974 |publisher=Abelard-Schuman |isbn=0-200-72140-2}}</ref> | ||
Part of Petacci and Mussolini's correspondence has not been released on the grounds of privacy.<ref>{{in lang|it}} Giampiero Buonomo, [https://www.academia.edu/11435982/Ricerca_storiografica_e_diritto_alla_riservatezza {{lang|it|Quel carteggio tra Mussolini e la Petacci. Storici sacrificati sull’altare della privacy}}, in Diritto e giustizia, 16 luglio 2005].</ref> | Part of Petacci and Mussolini's correspondence has not been released on the grounds of privacy.<ref>{{in lang|it}} Giampiero Buonomo, [https://www.academia.edu/11435982/Ricerca_storiografica_e_diritto_alla_riservatezza {{lang|it|Quel carteggio tra Mussolini e la Petacci. Storici sacrificati sull’altare della privacy}}, in Diritto e giustizia, 16 luglio 2005].</ref> | ||
==Death== | ==Death== | ||
[[File:Mussolini e Petacci a Piazzale Loreto, 1945.jpg|thumb|(from left) The corpses of [[Nicola Bombacci]], [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]], Petacci, [[Alessandro Pavolini]] and [[Achille Starace]] in [[Piazzale Loreto]], 29 April 1945]] | {{See also|Death of Benito Mussolini}} | ||
[[File:Mussolini e Petacci a Piazzale Loreto, 1945.jpg|thumb|(from left) The corpses of [[Nicola Bombacci]], [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]], Petacci, [[Alessandro Pavolini]] and [[Achille Starace]] in [[Piazzale Loreto]], 29 April 1945]] | |||
On 27 April 1945, Mussolini and Petacci were captured by [[Italian resistance movement|partisans]] while traveling with a ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' convoy retreating to Germany. The German column included a number of [[Italian Social Republic]] members.<ref>Gunther Langes, ''Auf Wiedersehen Claretta. Il diario dell'uomo che poteva salvare Mussolini e la Petacci, a cura di Nico Pirozzi'', Villaricca, Edizioni Cento Autori, 2012. {{ISBN|978-88-97121-37-4}}.</ref> | On 27 April 1945, Mussolini and Petacci were captured by [[Italian resistance movement|partisans]] while traveling with a ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' convoy retreating to Germany. The German column included a number of [[Italian Social Republic]] members.<ref>Gunther Langes, ''Auf Wiedersehen Claretta. Il diario dell'uomo che poteva salvare Mussolini e la Petacci, a cura di Nico Pirozzi'', Villaricca, Edizioni Cento Autori, 2012. {{ISBN|978-88-97121-37-4}}.</ref> | ||
On 28 April, she and Mussolini were taken to [[Mezzegra]] and executed. One source alleges Petacci's execution was not planned and that she died throwing herself on Mussolini in a vain attempt to protect him from the bullets.<ref>Pierluigi Baima Bollone, ''Le ultime ore di Mussolini'', Milano, Mondadori, 2005, {{ISBN|88-04-53487-7}}., pagg. 89 e succ.ve</ref> On the following day, the bodies of Mussolini and Petacci were taken to [[Piazzale Loreto]] in [[Milan]] and hung upside down in front of a petrol station. The bodies were photographed as a crowd vented their rage upon them.<ref>{{cite web |url= | On 28 April, she and Mussolini were taken to [[Mezzegra]] and executed. One source alleges Petacci's execution was not planned and that she died throwing herself on Mussolini in a vain attempt to protect him from the bullets.<ref>Pierluigi Baima Bollone, ''Le ultime ore di Mussolini'', Milano, Mondadori, 2005, {{ISBN|88-04-53487-7}}., pagg. 89 e succ.ve</ref> On the following day, the bodies of Mussolini and Petacci were taken to [[Piazzale Loreto]] in [[Milan]] and hung upside down in front of a petrol station. The bodies were photographed as a crowd vented their rage upon them.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cidc.library.cornell.edu/dof/italy/captioned/hanging.htm |title=Death of the Father-Mussolini & Fascist Italy: the 'infamous' exhibit |publisher=[[Cornell University|Cornell Institute for Digital Collections]] |year=1999}}</ref> On the same day, Clara's brother, Marcello Petacci, was also killed in Dongo by the partisans, along with fifteen other people complicit in Mussolini's escape. | ||
Following the war, Petacci's family began civil and criminal court cases against [[Walter Audisio]] for Petacci's unlawful killing. After a lengthy legal process, an investigating judge eventually closed the case in 1967. Audisio was acquitted of murder and embezzlement on the grounds that the actions complained of occurred as an act of war against the Germans and the fascists during a period of enemy occupation.<ref>{{cite book |last=Baima Bollone |first=Pierluigi |title=Le ultime ore di Mussolini |date=2005 |publisher=Mondadori (Italy) |isbn=88-04-53487-7 |pages=123}}</ref> | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Latest revision as of 13:19, 15 October 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Main otherScript error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".Template:Wikidata image Template:Expand Italian Clara "Claretta" Petacci (Script error: No such module "IPA".; 28 February 1912 – 28 April 1945) was a mistress of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. She was killed by Italian partisans during Mussolini's summary execution.
Early life
Daughter of Giuseppina Persichetti (1888–1962) and the physician Francesco Saverio Petacci (1883–1970), Clara Petacci was born into a privileged and religious family in Rome in 1912.[1][2] Her father, a physician of the Holy Apostolic Palaces,[3] became a supporter of fascism. A child when Mussolini rose to power in the 1920s, Clara Petacci idolised him from an early age. After Violet Gibson attempted to assassinate the dictator in April 1926, the 14-year-old Petacci wrote to him commenting "O, Duce, why was I not with you? ... Could I not have strangled that murderous woman?"[4]
Relationship with Mussolini
Petacci had a long-standing relationship with Mussolini while he was married to Rachele Mussolini. Petacci was 28 years younger than Mussolini.[5] They met for the first time in April 1932 when Mussolini, driving with an aide to Ostia, overtook a car occupied by the twenty-year-old Petacci and family members. She called out, "Duce! Duce!" and when he stopped, told him that she had been writing to him since her early teens.[6]
In 1934, Petacci married Italian Air Force officer Riccardo Federici, but she parted ways with her husband when he was sent to Tokyo as Air Attaché in 1936.[7] Petacci then became the mistress of the fifty-three-year-old Mussolini, visiting his large headquarters in the Script error: No such module "Lang"., where a private apartment was reserved for her. Her infatuation with Mussolini appears to have been genuine and permanent. The affair became widely known and members of the Petacci family, notably her brother, Marcello, were able to benefit financially and professionally by influence-selling.[8]
Part of Petacci and Mussolini's correspondence has not been released on the grounds of privacy.[9]
Death
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On 27 April 1945, Mussolini and Petacci were captured by partisans while traveling with a Luftwaffe convoy retreating to Germany. The German column included a number of Italian Social Republic members.[10]
On 28 April, she and Mussolini were taken to Mezzegra and executed. One source alleges Petacci's execution was not planned and that she died throwing herself on Mussolini in a vain attempt to protect him from the bullets.[11] On the following day, the bodies of Mussolini and Petacci were taken to Piazzale Loreto in Milan and hung upside down in front of a petrol station. The bodies were photographed as a crowd vented their rage upon them.[12] On the same day, Clara's brother, Marcello Petacci, was also killed in Dongo by the partisans, along with fifteen other people complicit in Mussolini's escape.
Following the war, Petacci's family began civil and criminal court cases against Walter Audisio for Petacci's unlawful killing. After a lengthy legal process, an investigating judge eventually closed the case in 1967. Audisio was acquitted of murder and embezzlement on the grounds that the actions complained of occurred as an act of war against the Germans and the fascists during a period of enemy occupation.[13]
See also
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- Eva Braun – Adolf Hitler's mistress
- Margherita Sarfatti – one of Mussolini's earlier mistresses
- Grand Hotel Rimini – Petacci's residence in Rimini during Mussolini's summer holidays in Riccione[14][15]
References
Sources
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Further reading
- Bosworth, R.J.B. (2017). Claretta: Mussolini's Last Lover, Yale University Press Template:ISBN
- Farrell, Nicholas (2003). Mussolini: A New Life, Phoenix Press: London Template:ISBN
- Garibaldi, Luciano (2004). Mussolini: The Secrets of His Death, Enigma Books, New York Template:ISBN
- Moseley, Ray (2004). Mussolini: The Last 600 Days of Il Duce, Taylor Trade Publishing, Dallas Template:ISBN
Template:Benito Mussolini
Template:Authority control
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ De Felice (1981) p. 278
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- ↑ Template:In lang Giuseppina Persichetti, La enamorada de Mussolini, Madrid, Ediciones Caballero Audaz, 1947.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Template:In lang Giampiero Buonomo, Script error: No such module "Lang"., in Diritto e giustizia, 16 luglio 2005.
- ↑ Gunther Langes, Auf Wiedersehen Claretta. Il diario dell'uomo che poteva salvare Mussolini e la Petacci, a cura di Nico Pirozzi, Villaricca, Edizioni Cento Autori, 2012. Template:ISBN.
- ↑ Pierluigi Baima Bollone, Le ultime ore di Mussolini, Milano, Mondadori, 2005, Template:ISBN., pagg. 89 e succ.ve
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".