Love Stories of Dictators: Benito Mussolini and Claretta Petacci, Passion in the Shadow of Power

Benito Mussolini, the Fascist dictator of Italy, had an obsession-fuelled romance with a woman 29 years his junior. Claretta Petacci, born on 28 February 1912, was the daughter of society doctor Francesco Saverio Petacci and Giuseppina Persichetti. She was executed alongside Mussolini in April 1945.Italy during Mussolini’s regime was the first state to be called totalitarian, yet Claretta and her family glorified the dictator. “They are splendid proof that ‘the Italian family’ did not wither away under the onslaught of Fascist totalitarianism and Mussolinian charisma. The best single example of family bond was given by Myriam when she wrote to the Duce that he whose regime was built on the slogan ‘Mussolini ha sempre ragione’ (Mussolini is always

right) ought to understand that, in his private world, ‘Claretta ha avuto sempre ragione’ (Claretta has always been right),” wrote R. J. B. Bosworth in The Private Life of Il Duce: Mussolini and His Last Lover Claretta Petacci. Duce was the title famously used for Mussolini and means “leader”.The cult of ducismo had engulfed her so deeply that when an assassination attempt was made on Mussolini on 7 April 1926, a 14-year-old Claretta, who was at school, said, “O Duce, why was I not with you?”, and added, “Could I not have strangled that murderous woman?”On another occasion, in April 1932, while travelling in her car, she caught sight of Mussolini driving his Alfa Romeo and asked her driver to follow him. She was 20, while Mussolini was 49, and when he came out to confront them for tailing his car, that moment, according to Claretta, was love at first sight for them both. This account was written in her diary, which was published in 2009 as Mussolini segreto (Secret Mussolini).“His vainglorious sexual boasting (‘They say I’ve got the most beautiful body in Italy’) worked on her like an aphrodisiac,” wrote Ian Thomson in an article titled The Ben and Clara Affair, published in The Spectator.Mussolini was married to Rachele and had five children, while Claretta was engaged to another man. The dictator was known to have had many relationships and is said to have had one-night stands with hundreds of women. He is said to have advised Claretta to marry her fiancé and was aware of their age difference. However, she was unhappy in her marriage, which led to her eventually becoming his lover and mistress four years after their first meeting.They had an intense romance, with Mussolini ringing her up to 20 times a day. They exchanged long letters, and she kept diaries. These diaries also reveal details about the sexual intimacy between the duo, including one instance of them being together in his office at the Palazzo Venezia on a Sunday afternoon.She became pregnant but miscarried and never had children with him. She remained faithful to Mussolini, while he continued to have affairs and remained married. She used her influence with Mussolini to get privileges for her family. By 1943, the winds had begun to change, and Mussolini was reduced to being the leader of a puppet state. Claretta and Rachele also began to experience friction, as the former felt insecure and feared she would be kidnapped and killed, while Rachele worried about being replaced by Claretta. The wife even went after the mistress with a pistol but ended up only abusing her verbally.Mussolini fled Milan on 25 April 1945, and on 27 April he and Claretta were arrested by local partisans near Lake Como. They were executed the next day, and their bodies were taken to Piazzale Loreto. The bodies were hung upside down for the crowd to insult and physically abuse.Claretta lived for her Duce, and died with him. In loving the dictator, she lost her youth, and finally her life, bound forever to the rise and fall of a man she never stopped believing in.