Clara Petacci
Clara Petacci (Claretta Petacci) (28 February 1912– 28 April 1945) was an upper class Roman whose father had been the personal physician to the Pope. She became the mistress of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who was twenty-eight years her senior. On 27 April 1945, when a convoy of escaping Italian Social Republic members, including Mussolini, was captured by Communist partisans, it is said that Petacci was offered the opportunity to go unmolested.[citation needed] On 28 April, she and Mussolini were taken to Mezzegra where she and the Duce were shot. On the following day, 29 April, Mussolini 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.[1]
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 murdered in Dongo, he was shot while trying to escape.
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 skinhead band 'División 250' also recorded a song about Petacci called 'Clara'.
- Mussolini: The Untold Story, 1985 TV-miniseries featured Virginia Madsen as Petacci.
See also
- Margherita Sarfatti, one of Mussolini's earlier mistresses
References
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