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 Mussoliniedit
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 headquarters in the Palazzo Venezia, where a small 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]
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 an Esso 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.
After the war, the family of Petacci 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]
In popular cultureedit
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^Barber, Tony (17 February 2017). "Claretta by RJB Bosworth — Mussolini's last lover". www.ft.com. from the original on 2017-02-18. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
^Downing, Ben (2017-03-24). "In Bed With Il Duce". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
^Gallo, Max (1974). Mussolini's Italy. Abelard-Schuman. pp. 270–271. ISBN0-200-72140-2.
^(in Italian) Giampiero Buonomo, Quel carteggio tra Mussolini e la Petacci. Storici sacrificati sull’altare della privacy, 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. ISBN978-88-97121-37-4.
^Pierluigi Baima Bollone, Le ultime ore di Mussolini, Milano, Mondadori, 2005, ISBN88-04-53487-7., pagg. 89 e succ.ve
^Baima Bollone, Pierluigi (2005). Le ultime ore di Mussolini. Mondadori (Italy). p. 123. ISBN88-04-53487-7.
^"Caesar and Claretta". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
^Enrico Lancia (1998). I premi del cinema. Gremese Editore, 1998. ISBN88-7742-221-1.
^"Mussolini: The Untold Story (1985): Virginia Madsen: Claretta Petacci". IMDB. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
^"Mussolini and I". IMDB. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
^"Rachele Mussolini perde la causa non riavrà più i beni di un tempo" [Rachele Mussolini loses the case: She will not have again the goods of time ago]. La Stampa (in Italian). 13 May 1977. p. 22. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
^Annovazzi Lodi, Stefano (3 December 2019). "Il grand hotel della riviera che faceva sognare Fellini" [The grand hotel on the riviera that made Fellini dream]. ELLE Decor (in Italian). Retrieved 3 February 2024.
Sourcesedit
De Felice, Renzo (1996) [1981]. Mussolini. Il Duce. 2: Lo stato totalitario, 1936–1940 (in Italian) (2 ed.). Torino: Einaudi.
Further readingedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clara Petacci.
clara, petacci, clara, claretta, petacci, italian, klaˈretta, peˈtattʃi, february, 1912, april, 1945, mistress, italian, dictator, benito, mussolini, killed, italian, partisans, during, mussolini, execution, petacci, 1930sborn, 1912, february, 1912rome, kingdo. Clara Claretta Petacci Italian klaˈretta peˈtattʃi 28 February 1912 28 April 1945 was a mistress of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini She was killed by Italian partisans during Mussolini s execution Clara PetacciPetacci in the 1930sBorn 1912 02 28 28 February 1912Rome Kingdom of ItalyDied28 April 1945 1945 04 28 aged 33 Giulino di Mezzegra Italian Social RepublicCause of deathExecution by firing squadKnown forMistress of Benito MussoliniHeight1 60 m 5 ft 3 in SpouseRiccardo Federici m 1934 div 1936 wbr PartnerBenito Mussolini 1933 1945 RelativesMiriam di San Servolo sister Marcello Petacci brother Contents 1 Early life 2 Relationship with Mussolini 3 Death 4 In popular culture 5 See also 6 References 7 Sources 8 Further readingEarly life editDaughter 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 editPetacci 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 Attache in 1936 7 Petacci then became the mistress of the fifty three year old Mussolini visiting his headquarters in the Palazzo Venezia where a small 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 edit nbsp The corpses of Nicola Bombacci Mussolini Petacci Alessandro Pavolini and Achille Starace in Piazzale Loreto 1945See also Death of Benito Mussolini 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 an Esso 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 After the war the family of Petacci 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 In popular culture editYou can help expand this section with text translated from the corresponding article in Italian July 2020 Click show for important translation instructions View a machine translated version of the Italian article Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate rather than simply copy pasting machine translated text into the English Wikipedia Consider adding a topic to this template there are already 3 021 articles in the main category and specifying topic will aid in categorization Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low quality If possible verify the text with references provided in the foreign language article You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Italian Wikipedia article at it it Clara Petacci Il personaggio see its history for attribution You should also add the template Translated it it Clara Petacci Il personaggio to the talk page For more guidance see Wikipedia Translation Caesar and Claretta a 1975 episode of the BBC TV program Private Affairs starring Helen Mirren 14 Claretta 1984 film starring Claudia Cardinale 15 Mussolini The Untold Story 1985 TV miniseries featured Virginia Madsen as Petacci 16 Mussolini and I in which she is played by Barbara De Rossi 17 The Dictator s Playbook 2019 PBS documentarySee also edit nbsp Italy portal nbsp Biography portalEva 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 18 19 References edit Barber Tony 17 February 2017 Claretta by RJB Bosworth Mussolini s last lover www ft com Archived from the original on 2017 02 18 Retrieved 2021 04 02 Downing Ben 2017 03 24 In Bed With Il Duce Wall Street Journal ISSN 0099 9660 Retrieved 2021 04 02 De Felice 1981 p 278 Thomson Ian 25 February 2017 The Ben and Clara affair www spectator co uk Archived from the original on 2020 08 25 Retrieved 2021 04 02 in Spanish Giuseppina Persichetti La enamorada de Mussolini Madrid Ediciones Caballero Audaz 1947 Gallo Max 1974 Mussolini s Italy Abelard Schuman p 216 ISBN 0 200 72140 2 Boswort R J B 2010 Mussolini Bloomsbury Gallo Max 1974 Mussolini s Italy Abelard Schuman pp 270 271 ISBN 0 200 72140 2 in Italian Giampiero Buonomo Quel carteggio tra Mussolini e la Petacci Storici sacrificati sull altare della privacy 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 ISBN 978 88 97121 37 4 Pierluigi Baima Bollone Le ultime ore di Mussolini Milano Mondadori 2005 ISBN 88 04 53487 7 pagg 89 e succ ve Death of the Father Mussolini amp Fascist Italy the infamous exhibit Cornell Institute for Digital Collections 1999 Baima Bollone Pierluigi 2005 Le ultime ore di Mussolini Mondadori Italy p 123 ISBN 88 04 53487 7 Caesar and Claretta British Theatre Guide Retrieved 16 November 2021 Enrico Lancia 1998 I premi del cinema Gremese Editore 1998 ISBN 88 7742 221 1 Mussolini The Untold Story 1985 Virginia Madsen Claretta Petacci IMDB Retrieved 16 November 2021 Mussolini and I IMDB Retrieved 16 November 2021 Rachele Mussolini perde la causa non riavra piu i beni di un tempo Rachele Mussolini loses the case She will not have again the goods of time ago La Stampa in Italian 13 May 1977 p 22 Retrieved 7 February 2024 Annovazzi Lodi Stefano 3 December 2019 Il grand hotel della riviera che faceva sognare Fellini The grand hotel on the riviera that made Fellini dream ELLE Decor in Italian Retrieved 3 February 2024 Sources editDe Felice Renzo 1996 1981 Mussolini Il Duce 2 Lo stato totalitario 1936 1940 in Italian 2 ed Torino Einaudi Further reading edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clara Petacci Bosworth R J B 2017 Claretta Mussolini s Last Lover Yale University Press ISBN 978 0300214277 Farrell Nicholas 2003 Mussolini A New Life Phoenix Press London ISBN 1 84212 123 5 Garibaldi Luciano 2004 Mussolini The Secrets of His Death Enigma Books New York ISBN 1 929631 23 5 Moseley Ray 2004 Mussolini The Last 600 Days of Il Duce Taylor Trade Publishing Dallas ISBN 1 58979 095 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Clara Petacci amp oldid 1206960667, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
