Romano Mussolini | |
|---|---|
 Mussolini in 1932 | |
| Born | Romano Bruno Mussolini (1927-09-26)26 September 1927 Forlì, Italy |
| Died | 3 February 2006(2006-02-03) (aged 78) Rome, Italy |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1945–2006 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, includingAlessandra andRachele |
| Parent(s) | Benito Mussolini Rachele Mussolini |
| Relatives | Sophia Loren (former sister-in-law) Romano Floriani Mussolini (grandson) |
Romano Bruno Mussolini (26 September 1927 – 3 February 2006) was an Italianjazz pianist, painter, and film producer.[1] He was the fourth child and youngest son ofBenito Mussolini.
Romano Mussolini grew up inVilla Carpena [it], his family's residence inForlì inRomagna.[2] He studied music as a child, playing classical pieces on the piano and accompanying his father, Benito Mussolini, who played[3] the violin. FollowingWorld War II, he started playing jazz under the assumed name "Romano Full".[4]
His playing style has been described as "like a slightly melancholicOscar Peterson. Occasionally inspired, he was always efficient; he made the refrains run on time."[5]
In 1962, Mussolini marriedMaria Scicolone, the younger sister of actressSophia Loren. They had two daughters,Alessandra and her younger sister Elisabetta. Alessandra led a small Italian far-right party often described asneofascist,Alternativa Sociale. Romano Mussolini composed the party's official anthem, "The Pride of Being Italian".[5]
With his second wife, the actressCarla Maria Puccini [it], he had a daughter,Rachele Mussolini, named after his motherRachele Mussolini. The younger Rachele has served as a member of the city council of Rome.[6]
Mussolini was very reserved about his family history until the entry of the post-fascistNational Alliance party into government following the2001 general election.[7] In 2004 he published a broadly sympathetic account of his personalrecollections of his father,Il Duce, mio padre (translated asMy father, il Duce: a memoir by Mussolini's son, alluding tothe Fascist dictator's official title), including anecdotes of private confidences and discussions.[7]
Romano Mussolini died from heart problems in a hospital in Rome in 2006, aged 78.
Writing the introductory essay toMy Father Il Duce is a bit like writing the warning label on a powerful drug that has its uses but must be taken with care and knowledge of its potential side effects. The greatest benefit, perhaps, is understanding the evasions and self-deceptions of a certain kind of revisionist history and the conscious and unconscious manipulation of memory in learning to accept the unacceptable.
