Clara Petacci

Clara Petacci
Born	February 28, 1912 Rome, Italy
Died	April 28, 1945 (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

• Clara Petacci's sister was actress Miriam di San Servolo (31 May 1923 – 24 May 1991), also known as Miriam Petacci or Miriam Day.
• Clara Petacci's brother, Marcello Petacci, was captured with Mussolini and Petacci. But, rather than being executed in Dongo, he was shot while trying to escape.

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

In popular culture

• Claretta, 1984 film starring Claudia Cardinale
• Other films
• The American musician Scott Walker recorded a song about Petacci called "Clara" on his 2006 album The Drift
• The Spanish nazi music band 'División 250' also recorded a song about Petacci called 'Clara'
• Mussolini: The Untold Story, 1985 TV-miniseries featured Virginia Madsen as Petacci
• Mussolini and I, in which she is played by Barbara De Rossi

See also

• Margherita Sarfatti, one of Mussolini's earlier mistresses
• Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler's mistress

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

• Nicholas Farrell, Mussolini: A New Life (Phoenix Press, London, 2003) ISBN 1-84212-123-5
• Luciano Garibaldi, Mussolini: The Secrets of His Death (Enigma Books, New York, 2004) ISBN 1-929631-23-5
• Ray Moseley, Mussolini: The Last 600 Days of Il Duce (Taylor Trade Publishing, Dallas, 2004) ISBN 1-58979-095-2
• Rudolph S. Daldin "The Last Centurion" Volumes I&II ISBN 0-921447-34-5