Bruno Mussolini (22 April 1918 – 7 August 1941) was the son of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

dictator

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

and Mussolini's wife Rachele, the nephew of

Arnaldo Mussolini Arnaldo Mussolini (January 11, 1885 – December 21, 1931) was an Italian journalist and politician. He was the brother of Italy's Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, and a Fascist himself. He was also the brother of Edvige Mussolini and the broth ...

, and also the grandson of

Alessandro Mussolini Alessandro Mussolini (11 November 1854 – 19 November 1910) was the father of Italian Fascist founder and leader Benito Mussolini, the father of Arnaldo and Edvige Mussolini, the father-in-law of Rachele Mussolini, and the paternal grand ...

and Rosa Mussolini. He was an experienced pilot who died in a flying accident.

Biography

Bruno Mussolini was born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

. His father, Benito Mussolini, was the editor of the newspaper ''

Il Popolo d'Italia ''Il Popolo d'Italia'' ("The People of Italy") was an Italian newspaper published from 15 November 1914 until 24 July 1943. It was founded by Benito Mussolini as a pro-war newspaper during World War I, and it later became the main newspaper of ...

'' ("The People of Italy") before Bruno's birth and, on 22 April 1918, was away for the day in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

. Mussolini indicated to his wife that he did not want her to give birth before his return. In his words: "I don't want to be the last to be told again, as I was with

Vittorio Vittorio is an Italian male given name which has roots from the Byzantine-Bulgarian name Victor. People with the given name Vittorio include: * Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, pretender to the former Kingdom of Italy * Vittorio Adorni, pr ...

." That evening, the manager of the newspaper greeted Mussolini at the station with a broad grin and the words: "It's a boy."

Childhood

In 1919, Bruno Mussolini caught

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

and his parents feared he would never recover. Soon after the doctors pronounced him out of danger, he suffered from a bronchial complaint. By this time, one-year-old Bruno's weight had dropped to about . As a young student, 9-year-old Bruno adeptly, if not correctly, answered a schoolteacher's question about grammar. An examiner is reported to have said: "Now Bruno, tell me what person one cannot command." In response, Bruno tactfully responded: "There are two persons one cannot command, the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

and my father." Mussolini and sons Time cover 1935

At the age of 12, Bruno took after his father and tackled journalism. He and his older brother

published a weekly called ''La Penna del Ragazzi'' ("The Boys' Pen"). Bruno grew to like boxing, women, and cars. In 1935, at the age of 17, Bruno became Italy's youngest pilot.

Marriage

On 7 November 1938, Bruno married Gina Ruberti in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. His wife was the daughter of the head of the Ministry of Education's Contemporary Art Bureau. On 18 March 1940 in Rome, Bruno and his wife had their first child, a daughter, named Marina.

Pilot

In 1935, Bruno Mussolini joined the Royal Italian Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') and became a pilot. He flew for the ''Regia Aeronautica'' during the

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

. In September, before the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

invaded the

Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historical ...

, Air Sergeant Bruno Mussolini, 17, Air Second Lieutenant

Vittorio Mussolini Vittorio Mussolini (27 September 1916 – 12 June 1997) was an Italian film critic and producer. He was also the second child of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. However, he was the first officially acknowledged son of Mussolini, with his secon ...

, 18, and Air Captain Count Nobile Galeazzo Ciano, 32, sailed from

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

aboard the MS ''Saturnia''. After Ethiopia, Bruno also participated in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Unlike his brother Vittorio, Bruno was considered to be a serious pilot. In addition to participating in various conflicts, Bruno was involved in setting

flight airspeed record An air speed record is the highest airspeed attained by an aircraft of a particular class. The rules for all official aviation records are defined by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which also ratifies any claims. Speed records ...

s in a 1938 flight to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Death

On 7 August 1941, the 23-year-old Mussolini, commander of the 274a ''Squadriglia'' (274th Squadron), was flying in one of the prototypes of the "secret" Piaggio P.108B bomber, ''MM22003'', near the San Giusto Airport in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

, when he crashed into a house. The cockpit section was separated from the rest of the aircraft and Bruno Mussolini died of his injuries. Although the aircraft did not catch fire it was totally destroyed in the impact. Five members of the crew were injured and three died, including Bruno. Benito Mussolini rushed to the Santa Chiara Hospital to be at the side of his dead son. Bruno's death prompted his father to compose a booklet entitled "I Talk With Bruno" (''Parlo con Bruno''). The booklet implied timeless intimacy between the two and mixed Fascist, Catholic, and familial piety.

Television

Robert Downey, Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...

portrayed Bruno Mussolini in the TV mini-series '' Mussolini: The Untold Story'' in 1985.

Footnotes

Citations

Publications

*Bignozzi, Giorgio. "The Italian 'Fortress' (part 1)." ''

Air International ''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd. History and profile The magazine was fir ...

'' Vol. 31 No. 6, December 1986. p. 298-305, (part 2). ''Air International'' Vol. 32 No. 1, January 1987. p. 29-31, p. 47-49. * * *

External links

British Pathé short - "Bruno Mussolini Weds"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mussolini, Bruno 1918 births 1941 deaths Italian aviation record holders Italian military personnel killed in World War II Italian World War II pilots Bomber pilots Regia Aeronautica personnel of World War II Recipients of the Medal of Aeronautic Valor Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Italy Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1941 Children of national leaders

Bruno Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters *Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

Military personnel from Milan