Clara Petacci

Clara Petacci
Born (1912-02-28)February 28, 1912
Rome, Italy
Died April 28, 1945(1945-04-28) (aged 33)
Giulino di Mezzegra, Italy
Nationality Italian
Known for Being the mistress of Benito Mussolini
Relatives Miriam di San Servolo, sister

Clara Petacci, known as Claretta Petacci (Italian pronunciation: [klaˈretta peˈtattʃi]; 28 February 1912 – 28 April 1945) was the mistress of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, and was executed with him by partisans.

Relationship with Mussolini

Petacci had a long-standing relationship with Mussolini while he was married to Rachele Mussolini. Mussolini was twenty-eight years Petacci's senior.[1]

Part of their correspondence is still the subject of a dispute with the National Archives, based on privacy.[2]

Death

On 27 April 1945, Mussolini and Petacci were captured by partisans while traveling with a convoy of Italian Social Republic members.[3]

On 28 April, she and Mussolini were taken to Mezzegra and shot. On the following day, 29 April, Mussolini's and Petacci's bodies were taken to the 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.[4]

Family

From left to right, the dead bodies of Bombacci, Mussolini, Clara Petacci, Pavolini and Starace in Piazzale Loreto, 1945

In popular culture

See also

References

  1. (Spanish) Giuseppina Persichetti, La enamorada de Mussolini, Madrid, Ediciones Caballero Audaz, 1947.
  2. (Italian) Giampiero Buonomo, Quel carteggio tra Mussolini e la Petacci. Storici sacrificati sull’altare della privacy, in Diritto e giustizia, 16 luglio 2005.
  3. 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.
  4. "Death of the Father-Mussolini & Fascist Italy: the 'infamous' exhibit". Cornell Institute for Digital Collections. 1999.

Further reading

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