Italian Fascist leader

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 ...

survived several assassination attempts while head of government of Italy in the 1920s and 1930s.

Tito Zaniboni

The former Socialist deputy Tito Zaniboni was arrested for attempting to assassinate Mussolini on November 4, 1925. In a hotel with a view unto Palazzo Chigi, where Mussolini had planned to give a balcony speech, Zaniboni set up a rifle with telescopic sights. Shortly before his target appeared, however, Zaniboni was arrested. A friend and double agent had informed the police. Historians believe that the plot itself was engineered by the Mussolini administration as a pretext to consolidate power, which is what followed. Mussolini's laws enacted in late 1925 enabled the suppression of any oppositional political organization. The Italian army officer Luigi Capello was arrested in conjunction with the Zaniboni plot and received a 30-year prison sentence. The author and labor organizer

Carlo Tresca Carlo Tresca (March 9, 1879 – January 11, 1943) was an Italian-American newspaper editor, orator, and labor organizer who was a leader of the Industrial Workers of the World during the 1910s. He is remembered as a leading public opponent of fas ...

wrote a play and political satire in late 1925 based on the attempt, ''L'Attentato a Mussolini ovvero il segreto di Pulcinella'' (''The Attempt on Mussolini or the Secret of Pulcinella''). Zaniboni received a 30-year prison sentence, but was released in 1943 after the King dismissed Mussolini as prime minister, and later named to government positions.

Violet Gibson

The next year, on April 7, 1926,

Violet Gibson Violet Albina Gibson (31 August 1876 – 2 May 1956) was an Irish woman who attempted to assassinate Benito Mussolini in 1926. She was released without charge but spent the rest of her life in a psychiatric hospital in England. She was the daug ...

shot a pistol at Mussolini, which grazed his nose. He was bandaged and continued on to give his scheduled speech. Gibson, the daughter of the

Irish Lord Chancellor The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland (commonly known as Lord Chancellor of Ireland) was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801, it was also the highest political office of ...

, was nearly lynched, later jailed, and spent the remainder of her life in an asylum.

Gino Lucetti

Later in 1926, on September 11, anarchist marble worker

Gino Lucetti Gino Lucetti (31 August 1900 – 17 September 1943) was an Italian anarchist and anti-fascist who attempted to assassinate the dictator Benito Mussolini in 1926. After World War I he was involved in many clashes and political brawls during the B ...

threw a bomb at Mussolini's limousine in

Porta Pia Porta Pia is a gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. One of Pope Pius IV's civic improvements to the city, it is named after him. Situated at the end of a new street, the Via Pia, it was designed by Michelangelo in replacement for the Port ...

, Rome, which injured four others.

Anteo Zamboni

The next month, on October 31, 1926, a shot fired at Mussolini, who rode in an open car through Bologna, led to the lynching of a 15-year-old boy. Terrorism specialist

J. Bowyer Bell J. Bowyer Bell (November 15, 1931 – August 23, 2003) was an American historian, artist and art critic. He was best known as a terrorism expert. Background and early life Bell was born into an Episcopal Church in the United States of Americ ...

wrote that the boy was likely innocent and the affair either a put-up job or plot between Fascists. The attempt resulted in laws creating Mussolini's secret police. The attempt has been adapted into two films: the 1977 film ''

Gli ultimi tre giorni Gianfranco Mingozzi (5 April 1932 – 7 October 2009) was an Italian director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Bologna, Mingozzi got a degree in Law, then enrolled at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, graduating in 1 ...

'' (''The Last Three Days'') and the fictionalized 1973 film '' Love and Anarchy''. A street in Bologna is named after Zamboni.

1930s plots

As Italian Fascism became a stable institution, the potential murder of Mussolini became harder to attempt and offered less potential impact to destabilize his regime. In May 1931, American anarchist Michele Schirru was arrested and executed in Italy for plotting to kill Mussolini. The next month, Angelo Sbardellotto was arrested and executed for a similar plot.

Gallery of would-be assassins

File:Tito Zaniboni.jpg,

Tito Zaniboni Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini survived several assassination attempts while head of government of Italy in the 1920s and 1930s. Tito Zaniboni The former Socialist deputy Tito Zaniboni was arrested for attempting to assassinate Muss ...

File:General Luigi Capello.jpg, Luigi Capello File:VioletGibson1926.jpg,

File:Gino Lucetti.JPG,

File:Anteo Zamboni.jpg,

Anteo Zamboni Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini survived several assassination attempts while head of government of Italy in the 1920s and 1930s. Tito Zaniboni The former Socialist deputy Tito Zaniboni was arrested for attempting to assassinate Muss ...

File:Michele Schirru (cropped).jpg, Michele Schirru