Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari ( , ; 18 March 1903 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian diplomat and politician who served as
Foreign Minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
in the government of his father-in-law,
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 ...
, from 1936 until 1943. During this period, he was widely seen as Mussolini's most probable successor as head of government.
He was the son of
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
Costanzo Ciano
Costanzo Ciano, 1st Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari (; 30 August 1876 – 26 June 1939) was an Italian naval officer and politician. He was the father of Galeazzo Ciano.
Biography Early life
Born at Livorno the son of Raimondo Ciano and wife A ...
, a founding member of the
National Fascist Party
The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...
; father and son both took part in Mussolini's
March on Rome
The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, Fa ...
in 1922. Ciano saw action in the
Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–36) and was appointed Foreign Minister on his return. Following a series of Axis defeats in the
Second World War
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 ...
, Ciano began pushing for Italy's exit, and he was dismissed from his post as a result. He then served as ambassador to the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
.
In July 1943, Ciano was among the members of the
Grand Council of Fascism
The Grand Council of Fascism (, also translated "Fascist Grand Council") was the main body of Mussolini's Fascist government in Italy, that held and applied great power to control the institutions of government. It was created as a body of the ...
that forced Mussolini's ousting and subsequent arrest. Ciano proceeded to flee to Germany but was arrested and handed over to Mussolini's new regime based in Salo, the
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...
. Under German pressure, Mussolini ordered Ciano's death, and in January 1944 he was executed by firing squad.
Ciano wrote and left behind a diary that has been used as a source by several historians, including
William Shirer
William Lawrence Shirer (; February 23, 1904 – December 28, 1993) was an American journalist and war correspondent. He wrote ''The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'', a history of Nazi Germany that has been read by many and cited in scholarly w ...
in his ''
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
''The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany'' is a book by American journalist William L. Shirer in which the author chronicles the rise and fall of Nazi Germany from the birth of Adolf Hitler in 1889 to the end of World Wa ...
'' and in the four-hour
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
documentary-drama ''
Mussolini and I
''Mussolini and I'' (alternately titled ''Mussolini: The Decline and Fall of Il Duce'') is a 1985 made-for-television docudrama film directed by Alberto Negrin. It chronicles the strained relationship between Italy's fascist dictator Benito Musso ...
''.
Early life
Gian Galeazzo Ciano was born in
Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
, Italy, in 1903. He was the son of
Costanzo Ciano
Costanzo Ciano, 1st Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari (; 30 August 1876 – 26 June 1939) was an Italian naval officer and politician. He was the father of Galeazzo Ciano.
Biography Early life
Born at Livorno the son of Raimondo Ciano and wife A ...
and his wife Carolina Pini; his father was an
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
and
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
hero in the
Royal Italian Navy
The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to '' Marina Militare'' (" ...
(for which service he was given the aristocratic title of
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
by
Victor Emmanuel III
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
). The elder Ciano, nicknamed ''Ganascia'' ("The Jaw"), was a founding member of the
National Fascist Party
The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...
and re-organizer of the Italian merchant navy in the 1920s. Costanzo Ciano was not above extracting private profit from his public office. He would use his influence to depress the stock of a company, after which he would buy a controlling interest, then increase his wealth after its value rebounded. Among other holdings, Costanzo Ciano owned a newspaper, farmland in Tuscany and other properties worth huge sums of money. As a result, his son Galeazzo was accustomed to living a high-profile and glamorous lifestyle, which he maintained almost until the end of his life. Father and son both took part in Mussolini's 1922
March on Rome
The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, Fa ...
.
After studying
Philosophy of Law
Philosophy of law is a branch of philosophy that examines the nature of law and law's relationship to other systems of norms, especially ethics and political philosophy. It asks questions like "What is law?", "What are the criteria for legal vali ...
at the
University of Rome, Galeazzo Ciano worked briefly as a journalist before choosing a diplomatic career; soon, he served as an
attaché
In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accor ...
in Rio de Janeiro.
On 24 April 1930, when he was 27 years old, he married Benito Mussolini's daughter
Edda Mussolini
Edda Ciano, Countess of Cortellazzo and Buccari (''née'' Mussolini; 1 September 1910 – 9 April 1995) was the daughter of Benito Mussolini, Italy's fascist dictator from 1922 to 1943. Her husband, the fascist propagandist and Foreign Minister ...
,
and they had three children (Fabrizio, Raimonda and Marzio), though he was known to have had several affairs while married. Soon after their marriage, Ciano left for Shanghai to serve as Italian consul, where his wife had an affair with the Chinese warlord
Zhang Xueliang
Chang Hsüeh-liang (, June 3, 1901 – October 15, 2001), also romanized as Zhang Xueliang, nicknamed the "Young Marshal" (少帥), known in his later life as Peter H. L. Chang, was the effective ruler of Northeast China and much of northern ...
. On his return to Italy in 1935, he became the minister of press and propaganda in the government of his father-in-law.
Foreign Minister
Ciano volunteered for action in the
Italian invasion of Ethiopia (1935–36) as a bomber squadron commander. He received two silver medals of valor and reached the rank of captain. His future opponent
Alessandro Pavolini
Alessandro Pavolini (27 September 1903 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian politician, journalist, and essayist, notable for his involvement in the Fascist government, during World War II, and also for his cruelty against the opponents of fascism ...
served in the same squadron as a lieutenant. Upon his highly trumpeted return from the war as a "hero" in 1936, he was appointed by Mussolini as replacement
Foreign Minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
. Ciano began to keep a diary a short time after his appointment and kept it active up to his 1943 dismissal as foreign minister. In 1937, he was allegedly involved in planning the murder of the brothers
Carlo and
Nello Rosselli
Sabatino Enrico 'Nello' Rosselli (Rome, 29 November 1900 – Bagnoles-de-l'Orne, 9 June 1937) was an Italian Socialist leader and historian.
Biography
Rosselli was born in Rome to a prominent Jewish family. His parents were Giuseppe Emanuele "Joe ...
, two exiled anti-fascist activists killed in the French
spa town
A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits.
Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. H ...
of
Bagnoles-de-l'Orne
Bagnoles-de-l'Orne is a former commune in the Orne department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2000, Tessé-la-Madeleine and Bagnoles-de-l'Orne merged becoming one town called Bagnoles-de-l'Orne, however, it adopted the former Insee code of Te ...
on 9 June. Also in 1937, prior to the
Italian annexation in 1939, Gian Galeazzo Ciano was named an Honorary Citizen of
Tirana, Albania
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
.
Before
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 ...
, Mussolini may have been preparing Ciano to succeed him as ''
Duce
( , ) is an Italian title, derived from the Latin word 'leader', and a cognate of ''duke''. National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as ('The Leader') of the movement since the birth of the in 1919. In 1925 ...
''.
(In 1938, he sought treatment for his throat ailment, by the famed Jewish professor
Heinrich Neumann Heinrich may refer to:
People
* Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
*Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...
. As treatment required lengthy time, the
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
interrupted and Neumann was jailed
[Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 17 November 1939]
CLINICAL NOTE
The death in New York of Prof. Heinrich Neumann, the world famed specialist who numbered the great of the world among his patients, recalls to Ed Kleinlerer, our former Rome correspondent, an interesting anecdote. ... It concerns Count Ciano, II Duce’s son-in-law and Foreign Minister. . . . Who, during a visit to Vienna before the Anschluss, came to Dr. Neumann for treatment of a throat ailment. . . . The treatment required considerable time. . . . Ciano couldn’t arrange to stay that long in Vienna. ... So upon his return to Rome, he arranged to have the specialist invited to lecture at Rome University so that he could be treated by him during his stay. . . . Fate, however, in the person of the Horrid Housepainter, intervened. . . . Vienna was "Anschlussed," and with it Neumann was jailed. . .
as a Jew). At the start of the war in 1939, Ciano did not agree with Mussolini's plans and knew that Italy's armed forces were ill-prepared for a major war. When Mussolini formally declared war on France in 1940, he wrote in his diary, ''"I am sad, very sad. The adventure begins. May God help Italy!"''
Ciano became increasingly disenchanted with Nazi Germany and the course of World War II, although when the Italian regime embarked on an ill-advised "parallel war" alongside Germany, he went along, despite the terribly-executed Italian invasion of Greece and its subsequent setbacks. Prior to the German campaign in France in 1940, Ciano leaked a warning of imminent invasion to neutral
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
.
Throughout 1941 and thereafter, Ciano made derogatory and sarcastic comments about Mussolini behind his back and was surprised that these comments were reported to the Duce, who did not take them lightly; for his part, Ciano ignored well meaning friends who advised moderation.
On top of that, friends and acquaintances sought his protection and aid on various matters not having to do with his official position, which in turn resulted in further caustic remarks. In addition, two relatively minor incidents wounded his overblown self-importance and vanity. One was his being excluded from a projected meeting between Mussolini and Franco. The other involved him being reprimanded for a rowdy celebration of an aviator in Bari; he wrote a letter to Mussolini stating that the Duce had "opened a wound in him which can never be closed." His own self-worth seemed to cloud his judgement, forgetting that he had acquired his position by marrying Mussolini's daughter.
In late 1942 and early 1943, following the Axis defeat in North Africa, other major setbacks on the Eastern Front, and with an Anglo-American assault on Sicily looming, Ciano turned against the doomed war and actively pushed for Italy's exit from the conflict. He was silenced by being removed from his post as foreign minister. The rest of the cabinet was removed as well on 5 February 1943. He was offered the post of ambassador to the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
, and presented his credentials to
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
on 1 March. In this role he remained in Rome, watched closely by Mussolini. The regime's position had become even more unstable by the coming summer, however, and court circles were already probing the Allied commands for some sort of agreement.
![Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R69173, Münchener Abkommen, Staatschefs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R69173%2C_M%C3%BCnchener_Abkommen%2C_Staatschefs.jpg)
On the afternoon of 24 July 1943, Mussolini summoned the
Fascist Grand Council
The Grand Council of Fascism (, also translated "Fascist Grand Council") was the main body of Mussolini's Fascist government in Italy, that held and applied great power to control the institutions of government. It was created as a body of the ...
to its first meeting since 1939, prompted by the
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...
. At that meeting, Mussolini announced that the Germans were thinking of evacuating the south. This led
Dino Grandi
Dino Grandi (4 June 1895 – 21 May 1988), 1st Conte di Mordano, was an Italian Fascist politician, minister of justice, minister of foreign affairs and president of parliament.
Early life
Born at Mordano, province of Bologna, Grandi was a gr ...
to launch a blistering attack on his longtime comrade. Grandi put on the table a resolution asking King Victor Emmanuel III to resume his full constitutional powers – in effect, a vote leading to
Mussolini's ousting from leadership. The motion won by an unexpectedly large margin, 19–8, with Ciano voting in favor. Mussolini's replacement was
Pietro Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino (, ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regime ...
, an Italian general in both World Wars.
Mussolini did not expect the vote to have substantive effect, and showed up for work the next morning as usual. That afternoon, the king summoned him to
Villa Savoia
Villa Ada is a park in Rome, Italy, with a surface of it is the second largest in the city after Villa Doria Pamphili. It is located in the northeastern part of the city.
History
The wooded expanse was owned by the Italian royal House of Savoy ...
and dismissed him from office. Upon leaving the villa, Mussolini was arrested. For the next two months he was moved from place to place to hide him and prevent his rescue by the Germans. Ultimately, Mussolini was sent to
Gran Sasso
Gran Sasso d'Italia (; ) is a massif in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. Its highest peak, Corno Grande (2,912 metres), is the highest mountain in the Apennines, and the second-highest mountain in Italy outside the Alps. The mountain lies wit ...
, a mountain resort in
Abruzzo
Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...
. He was kept in complete isolation in a hotel in
Campo Imperatore
Campo Imperatore ("Emperor's Field") is a mountain grassland or alpine meadow formed by a high basin shaped plateau located above Gran Sasso massif, the largest plateau of Apennine ridge. Known as "Little Tibet", it is located in Gran Sasso e M ...
until rescued by German paratroopers on 12 September 1943. Mussolini then set up a puppet government in the area of northern Italy still under German occupation called the
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...
.
Death
![Processo Verona 1944](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Processo_Verona_1944.png)
Ciano was dismissed from his post by the new government of Italy put in place after his father-in-law was overthrown. Ciano, Edda and their three children fled to Germany on 28 August 1943 in fear of being arrested by the new Italian government. The Germans turned him over to Mussolini's administration. He was then formally arrested on charges of treason. Under German and Fascist pressure, Mussolini had Ciano imprisoned before he was tried and found guilty.
After the
Verona trial and sentence, on 11 January 1944, Ciano was executed by a
firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...
along with 4 others (
Emilio De Bono
Emilio De Bono (19 March 1866 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian general, fascist activist, marshal, and member of the Fascist Grand Council (''Gran Consiglio del Fascismo''). De Bono fought in the Italo-Turkish War, the First World War and the ...
,
Luciano Gottardi
Luciano Gottardi (Ferrara, 18 February 1899 – Verona, 11 January 1944) was an Italian Fascism, Fascist politician and trade unionist.
Biography
The son of a small farmer, he participated in the First World War initially as a private in the tel ...
,
Giovanni Marinelli
Giovanni Marinelli (18 October 1879 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian Fascist political leader.
Marinelli was born in Adria, Veneto.
A wealthy man, he contributed to Fascist success by financing the March on Rome. As secretary of the National ...
and
Carlo Pareschi
Carlo Pareschi (19 August 1898 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian Fascist politician, member of the Grand Council of Fascism and minister of agriculture of the Kingdom of Italy from 1941 to 1943.
Biography
A renowned agronomist, he fought i ...
) who had voted for Mussolini's ousting. As a further humiliation, the condemned men were tied to chairs and shot in the back, though Ciano managed to twist his chair around at the last minute to face the firing squad before uttering his final words, "Long live Italy!"
[.]
Ciano is remembered for his ''Diaries 1937–1943'',
a revealing daily record of his meetings with Mussolini,
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
,
Ribbentrop
Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945.
Ribbentrop first came to Adolf Hitler's not ...
, foreign ambassadors and other political figures. Edda tried to barter his papers to the Germans in return for his life; Gestapo agents helped her confidant
Emilio Pucci
Don Emilio Pucci, Marchese di Barsento (; 20 November 1914 – 29 November 1992) was an Italian aristocrat, fashion designer and politician. He and his eponymous company are synonymous with geometric prints in a kaleidoscope of colors.
Early l ...
rescue some of them from Rome. Pucci was then a lieutenant in the Italian Air Force, but would find fame after the war as a fashion designer. When Hitler vetoed the plan, she hid the bulk of the papers at a clinic in
Ramiola, near
Medesano
Medesano (Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about southwest of Parma. As of 31 May 2007, it had a population of 10,221 and an area o ...
and on 9 January 1944, Pucci helped Edda escape to Switzerland with five diaries covering the war years which were then buried beneath a rose garden. The diary was first published in English in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1946, edited by
Malcolm Muggeridge
Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was an English journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party (UK), Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romfo ...
, covering 1939 to 1943. The complete English version was published in 2002.
Children
Gian Galeazzo and Edda Ciano had three children:
*
Fabrizio Ciano, 3rd Conte di Cortellazzo e Buccari (Shanghai, 1 October 1931 –
San José, Costa Rica
San José (; meaning "Saint Joseph") is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Central Valley, within San José Canton. San ...
, 8 April 2008), married to Beatriz Uzcategui Jahn, without issue. Wrote a personal memoir entitled ''Quando il nonno fece fucilare papà'' ("When Grandpa had Daddy Shot").
* Raimonda Ciano (Rome, 12 December 1933 – Rome, 24 May 1998), married to ''
Nobile'' Alessandro Giunta (born 1929), son of ''
Nobile''
Francesco Giunta
Francesco Giunta (21 March 1887 – 8 June 1971) was an Italian Fascist politician. A leading figure in the early years of fascism, he helped to build the movement in several regions of the country and was particularly active in Trieste. Duri ...
(Piero, 1887–1971) and wife (m. Rome, 1924) Zenaida del Gallo Marchesa di
Roccagiovine
Roccagiovine ( Romanesco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Latium, located about northeast of Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder ...
(Rome, 1902 –
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, Brazil, 1988)
* Marzio Ciano, 4th Conte di Cortellazzo e Buccari (Rome, 18 December 1937 – 11 April 1974), married Gloria Lucchesi
In popular culture
* A number of films have depicted Ciano's life, including ''
The Verona Trial
''Il processo di Verona'' (internationally released as ''The Verona Trial'') is a 1963 Italian historical drama film directed by Carlo Lizzani. The film tells of the final phases of the Italian fascist regime, in particular the affair of the 1944 ...
'' (1962) by
Carlo Lizzani
Carlo Lizzani (3 April 1922 – 5 October 2013) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and critic.
Biography
Born in Rome, before World War II Lizzani worked as a scenarist on such films as Roberto Rossellini's ''Germany Year Zero'', ...
, where he is played by
Frank Wolff and ''
Mussolini and I
''Mussolini and I'' (alternately titled ''Mussolini: The Decline and Fall of Il Duce'') is a 1985 made-for-television docudrama film directed by Alberto Negrin. It chronicles the strained relationship between Italy's fascist dictator Benito Musso ...
'' (1985) in which he was played by
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...
.
* One of the most recognisable voices in German radio and television,
Sky du Mont
Sky du Mont (born Cayetano Neven du Mont; 20 May 1947) is a German-Argentine actor.
Early life
Sky du Mont's family, who are related to the famous publishers DuMont Schauberg, fled the Nazis in the 1930s to South America. He was born in Argen ...
, played Ciano in the 1983 mini-series ''
The Winds of War
''The Winds of War'' is Herman Wouk's second book about World War II (the first being ''The Caine Mutiny''). Published in 1971, ''The Winds of War'' was followed up seven years later by ''War and Remembrance''; originally conceived as one volume, ...
'', whereas in the 1989 sequel, ''
War and Remembrance
''War and Remembrance'' is a novel by Herman Wouk, published in October 1978 as the sequel to Wouk's ''The Winds of War'' (1971). ''The Winds of War'' covers the period 1939 to 1941, and ''War and Remembrance'' continues the story of the extended ...
'' he played a different Count, Count Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, of the bomb plot fame.
*
Raul Julia
Raúl Rafael Carlos Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 – October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he took an interest in acting while still in school and pursued the career upon completion of his studies. After ...
played Ciano in the 1985 television mini-series, ''Mussolini: The Untold Story''.
* In Serbia there is a proverb: "Living like Count Ciano" – describing a flamboyant and luxurious life (Živi k'o grof Ćano/Живи к'о гроф Ћано).
* Ciano's diaries were published in 1946 and were used by the prosecution against Hitler's Foreign Minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, during the post-war
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.
Between 1939 and 1945 ...
.
*
Curzio Malaparte
Curzio Malaparte (; 9 June 1898 – 19 July 1957), born Kurt Erich Suckert, was an Italian writer, filmmaker, war correspondent and diplomat. Malaparte is best known outside Italy due to his works ''Kaputt'' (1944) and ''La pelle'' (1949). The f ...
- "Kaputt": After he wrote 'The Technique of Coup d'État', Malaparte was jailed by the Fascist regime. He was freed on the personal intervention of Count Galeazzo Ciano. In 'Kaputt' Malaparte refers to Count Ciano and his wife Edda. Like Edda Ciano, Malaparte spent time in forced exile on the island of
Lipari
Lipari (; scn, Lìpari) is the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, southern Italy; it is also the name of the island's main town and ''comune'', which is administratively part of the Metropolit ...
.
* Count Ciano was mentioned by name in
Sofia Vembo
Sofia Vembo ( el, Σοφία Βέμπο; 10 February 1910, in Gallipoli, East Thrace, Turkey – 10 March 1978, in Athens, Greece) was a leading Greek singer and actress active from the interwar period to the early postwar years and the 1950s ...
's song about Mussolini, his father in law.
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References
Notes
Bibliography
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*"Galeazzo Ciano's Last Reflections before Execution." World War II Today RSS. Accessed 25 March 2015.
*"Galeazzo Ciano – a Summary – History in an Hour." History in an Hour. 10 January 2014. Accessed 25 March 2015.
*"Gian Galeazzo Ciano – Comando Supremo." Comando Supremo. 14 February 2010. Accessed 25 March 2015.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciano, Galeazzo
1903 births
1944 deaths
People from Livorno
Mussolini family
Members of the Grand Council of Fascism
Foreign ministers of Italy
Mussolini Cabinet
Members of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations
Politicians of Tuscany
Italian diarists
Knights of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
20th-century executions for treason
People executed by Italy by firing squad
Executed Italian people
Executed politicians
People executed by the Italian Social Republic
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)
20th-century diarists