Vittorio Mussolini

THERE were, as far as is known, five little Mussolinis, two girls and three boys. Of these “princes and princesses of the blood”, as Benito Mussolini referred to his children, Edda, the eldest, was his favourite. But she found it hard to speak well of him after the execution of her husband as a “traitor” when the regime was failing. His other daughter, Anna Maria, had no ambition outside her marriage. Of the boys, Bruno died in a flying accident and Romano became a jazz pianist, a disappointment to a father whose solace, along with women, was Beethoven. Vittorio he considered the least promising. When Benito mulled over the possibility of creating a dynasty, Vittorio came bottom of his list as a successor. Yet it was Vittorio (with his father in our picture) who turned out to be the most loyal of the children, a fierce defender of what he saw as family honour.