The Execution of Mussolini’s Mistress, Clara Petacci

She was the mistress of the former Italian dictator, executed right by his side. Clara Petacci was significantly younger than Benito Mussolini—specifically by 28 years—and the two would later famously have their bodies put on public display before a massive crowd in Milan. The sight of their corpses provoked such outrage that an angry mob was unleashed, and it was only when the US Army arrived to restore order that this public spectacle finally came to an end. It was Benito Mussolini’s execution and the subsequent exhibition of his body alongside Petacci’s that led Adolf Hitler to decide to take his own life; following this, he ordered his staff to cremate his corpse in the garden of the Reich Chancellery. But who was the woman executed at Mussolini’s side? Today, we look at the brutal execution of Clara Petacci, Mussolini’s mistress.

Clara Petacci was the daughter of a doctor and was born in Rome on February 28, 1912. Her family was quite affluent and devout, and her father worked as a physician within the Vatican. However, he was an avowed supporter of fascism, experienced Mussolini’s rise to power firsthand, and passed on his deep admiration for the Italian dictator to his daughter. Clara idealized Mussolini from an early age and wrote to him often. Interestingly, after an assassination attempt against him—even though she was only 14 years old—Petacci wrote:

“Why wasn’t I with you? Couldn’t I have strangled that murderous woman?”

She was referring to Violet Gibson, who had shot Mussolini as he walked through a crowd in Rome. She resolved to achieve something significant in life and harbored aspirations for a career in the arts as an actress or painter. She became engaged to Riccardo Federici, an officer in the Italian Air Force, and the two later married in 1934. However, her life had already changed fundamentally two years earlier, when on that 24th day of April in 1932, she encountered for the very first time the man she had dreamed of for so long. Petacci was traveling from Rome to the sea at the time, accompanied by her future husband as well as her mother and sister, and along the way, they passed a red Alfa Romeo Gran Turismo Zagato. In the driver’s seat sat the fascist dictator Mussolini himself. Clara—or rather Claretta, who had previously sent him a series of letters—recognized him, and they began to follow him. Eventually, she managed to speak with Mussolini when they arrived at the coastal town, exchanging a few words with him as she admired him as a dictator and a great man. Mussolini was notoriously a man who enjoyed receiving compliments, especially from women, and he agreed to meet her at the Palazzo Venezia. This first meeting would be followed by numerous other gatherings.

It is not entirely known when exactly the intimate relationship between Petacci and Mussolini began; estimates suggest it likely commenced following this meeting in 1932 or 1933. Petacci separated from her husband in the spring of 1936, and in the aftermath, the relationship between Mussolini and her became much more than a mere affair. Over the course of 1937, the two lovers evolved into regular guests at the Palazzo Venezia, keeping their relationship a secret for several years. Only a very small circle of confidants knew about this affair with Petacci. Mussolini was married and known for maintaining various mistresses, but towards Petacci, he proved exceptionally devoted—far more so than toward his wife Rachele, with whom he had five children. His wife was willing to ignore the mistresses and during his rule played more of a marionette-like figure, acting as the paragon of an ideal fascist housewife and mother. During this period, Mussolini called Petacci regularly several times a day, sometimes for long stretches, and knowing that she was quite jealous, these phone calls served to reassure her. With Mussolini, she felt able to reveal her true feelings, and he discussed a large part of his private life with her; for instance, he told her how lonely and unappreciated he felt throughout his life and that he harbored the desire to fundamentally reshape the Italian people. Petacci reinforced him in this and glorified him as the savior of the Italian way of life.

For this loyalty, Mussolini rewarded her family by supporting her father’s medical practice and advancing her brother’s career. Her uncle was asked to paint portraits for him, and even her sister pursued a path in acting. Petacci received a villa where the family lived, underpinned by lavish gifts and a generous monthly allowance granted to her as a favorite. When the Second World War broke out, Italy was allied with Nazi Germany through Mussolini’s close friendship with Adolf Hitler, which flourished fully during this phase. However, the Italian armed forces proved thoroughly ineffective over the course of the conflict, noticeably weakening Mussolini’s regime. In July 1943, Mussolini was ousted from power and detained, with Petacci also being arrested before being released again. The connection between Petacci and Mussolini subsequently leaked to the public, and the privileges she and her family had enjoyed were published, exposing the scale of rampant corruption within Mussolini’s government.

In September 1943, he was rescued by Operation Eiche at Gran Sasso, with German troops extracting him before he was installed as the head of the Italian Social Republic. Clara fled to Rome thereafter to be close to Mussolini once more, but the signs had changed, and many felt deep revulsion regarding the relationship she maintained with him. She advanced into a symbol of shame for the old fascist regime, and she and Mussolini were despised equally for it. Their liaison was continued, though henceforth kept on a low flame to minimize any risks for the couple. Clara Petacci remained loyal to Mussolini until his very last hour.

In April 1945, Mussolini fled toward Lake Como, accompanied by Petacci, who joined him later as they attempted to escape to Switzerland. On April 27, however, their convoy was attacked near the village of Dongo by a group of local partisans. They were forced to halt, and the entourage alongside other fascist politicians was identified by the partisans; initially, Mussolini and Petacci were not spotted until Urbano Lazzaro caught sight of the “Duce.” The couple was detained and reunited in the early hours of April 28, as it was feared an rescue attempt might be undertaken. A local partisan leader announced the capture of Mussolini over the radio with the words:

“We find that a firing squad is too great an honor for this man; he deserves to be killed like a dog.”

Following this, Mussolini’s execution was ordered, and it is assumed a death sentence was passed on Petacci as well. A communist leader gave another partisan named Walter Audisio the order to execute Mussolini, and together with Aldo Lampredi, they set out to carry out this command.

Different accounts exist regarding how exactly Mussolini and Petacci met their deaths, but it is believed that the executioners left Milan early on the morning of April 28 and, upon arrival, took control of Petacci and Mussolini. Audisio—operating under the alias Lieutenant Valerio—fetched Mussolini and Petacci from a farmhouse and drove them to a place called Mezzegra, specifically the district of Giulino. Here, in front of a villa named Villa Belmonte on a narrow street, the two lovers were instructed to leave their vehicle and stand against the villa’s wall. At ten past four in the afternoon, Audisio, armed with a submachine gun, fired bursts at Mussolini and Petacci against the wall, striking both simultaneously so that they died instantly from their injuries.

The story of Clara Petacci and her lover, the Italian dictator, did not end there, however. Instead, their corpses were brought to Piazzale Loreto in Milan—a significant marketplace where 15 partisans had been shot shortly before—where the bodies were put on display until 9:00 a.m. on April 29. A huge crowd had gathered on the square, and the mortal remains of Mussolini and Petacci were hung up alongside others. The enraged crowd spat on the couple’s bodies, urinated on them, shot and kicked them, and even threw vegetables at the dead. It was an unleashed mob, and only when the Americans arrived and took control of both bodies did this scene find an end. Petacci’s body was heavily disfigured by the posthumous abuse.

One of the gravest consequences of Clara Petacci’s execution was the fact that it reinforced Adolf Hitler in his decision to take his own life. He did not want his body to suffer the same fate as Mussolini’s after his passing, nor did he want his long-time companion Eva Braun to suffer the same fate as Petacci. There is no question that Clara Petacci was a woman obsessed with Mussolini from her youth, and ultimately she got what she wanted: the man she had desired for so long, as well as the enormous wealth he had bestowed upon her. Her execution had been hastily arranged, but the events that followed were of unimaginable brutality. They occurred at a time when the Axis powers had lost the Second World War in Europe, shortly before another oppressive regime collapsed and a few days later another dictator ended his life in a bunker in Berlin.