Edda Ciano | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Edda Mussolini (1910-09-01)1 September 1910 |
| Died | 9 April 1995(1995-04-09) (aged 84) |
| Title | Countess of Cortellazzo and Buccari |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents |
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Edda Ciano, Countess of Cortellazzo and Buccari (néeMussolini; 1 September 1910 – 9 April 1995) was the daughter ofBenito Mussolini,fascist dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943. Her husband, the fascist propagandist and Foreign MinisterGaleazzo Ciano, was executed in January 1944 for his role in Mussolini's ousting. She strongly denied her involvement in theNational Fascist Party regime followingher father's execution by theItalian partisans in April 1945.
The first child ofBenito Mussolini andRachele Guidi, she was born out of wedlock inForlì,Romagna; her parents did not marry until December 1915. In her early years, while her father was editor ofIl Popolo d'Italia in Milan, Edda lived with Rachele in Forlì. Her father became Prime Minister of Italy in October 1922 and dictator after January 1925.
In March 1925, Rachele and Edda with her brothers and sisters, moved fromMilan toCarpegna and then toRome in November 1929 to live with their father. Edda was a rebellious woman in her youth. Her powerful father made dating difficult, as most young men feared her. She has been described as being opinionated and outspoken. It was while in Rome that she metGaleazzo Ciano, son of Admiral CountCostanzo Ciano, a loyalFascist and supporter of Benito Mussolini before hisMarch on Rome. They were married on 24 April 1930 in a lavish ceremony attended by 4,000 guests.
Her husband was appointedItalianConsul inShanghai. The couple moved back toItaly in 1932, where Galeazzo took the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. In China, she had an affair with the Chinese generalZhang Xueliang.[1][2]
After the Italianinvasion ofAlbania in June 1939, the city of Santi Quaranta (Sarandë in Albanian) was renamed "Porto Edda."
In July 1939, she was depicted on thecover ofTime in a feature entitled "Lady of the Axis".[3]
During theGreco-Italian War, Edda Ciano volunteered for service with the ItalianRed Cross. On 14 March 1941, she was embarked near the Albanian port of Valona (nowVlorë) on the Lloyd Triestino linerPo, which had been converted into a hospital ship. British planes attacked and sank the ship, with some loss of life. The ship was moored among other vessels with her lights switched off on the orders of the port authorities and was, therefore, a legitimate target and would not have been easily identifiable as a hospital ship. Edda managed to survive, being picked up from the water by another ship. She continued to work for the Red Cross until 1943.[4]
It is rumored thatHeinrich Himmler bestowed Edda the rank of an honorary SS leader (SS Ehrenführerin) in 1943.[5]
After Edda's close call in theAdriatic Sea, Rachele and Benito Mussolini were doubly distressed when her brother,Bruno, died in August of the same year.[4]
In July 1943, when internal opposition against Mussolini finally emerged in theFascist Grand Council, Galeazzo Ciano voted against his father-in-law.[6] For this act, he was arrested for treason in November 1943, tried, and then executed on 11 January 1944.
Edda Ciano escaped toSwitzerland on 9 January 1944, disguised as a peasant woman. She managed to smuggle out the Count's wartime diaries, which had been hidden in her clothing by her confidantEmilio Pucci. At that time he was a lieutenant in theItalian Air Force but later found fame as a fashion designer.[7] War correspondent Paul Ghali of theChicago Daily News learned of her secret internment in a Swiss convent inNeggio and arranged the publication of the diaries.[8] They reveal much of the secret history of the Fascist regime between 1939 and 1943 and are considered a prime historical source. The diaries are strictly political and contain little of the Cianos' personal lives.
After returning to Italy from Switzerland, Edda was arrested and held in detention on the island ofLipari. On 20 December 1945, she was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for aiding Fascism.[citation needed]Marcello Sorgi's book,Edda Ciano e il comunista (2009), concerns her time on Lipari and her relationship with a young communist who also lived there; this was the basis of a 2011 film starringStefania Rocca.[9]
Her autobiography,La mia vita, was published in translation asMy Truth byWeidenfeld & Nicolson in 1975.
At the age of 84, she died in Rome in 1995.[10]
At the time, it was widely reported that the daughter ofHermann Göring andEmmy Göring (born on 2 June 1938) was namedEdda Göring after her.[11]
Films depicting Edda includeThe Verona Trial (1963), starringSilvana Mangano,[12] andMussolini and I (1985) in which she was played bySusan Sarandon.[13] In the TV-seriesMussolini: The Untold Story (1985),Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio played Edda.[14]The Verona Trial, about Ciano's death sentence, was banned in Venice after the widowed countess lodged a complaint with theprefect, saying that the film was inaccurate and "treads on our sorrow".[15]
Her sonFabrizio Ciano wrote a personal memoir titledQuando il nonno fece fucilare papà (When Grandpa Had Daddy Shot).[16]
Herr & Frau Göring became her fast friends (they later named their daughter after her).
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| Preceded by | Cover ofTime July 24, 1939 | Succeeded by |
