Benito Mussolini (1883 – 1945) is best known as the founder of Italy’s Fascist Party, and the leader who took an unprepared Italy into World War II, only for it to end catastrophically both for himself and for his country. Less known about Mussolini, as seen below, is his passionately lustful side. Il Duce (Italian for leader), as he was nicknamed, was a total hound.
A Little Known Side of Mussolini
After he founded the Fascist Party, Mussolini went on to lead Italy as its prime minister and dictator from 1922 to 1943. He was the first European fascist leader, and was an inspirational figure for Adolf Hitler. Indeed, the Fuhrer modeled himself after Mussolini during his own rise to power. Eventually, the Italian dictator was overshadowed by his German imitator, and Mussolini ended up as Hitler’s sidekick. He had delusions of grandeur, and sought to revive the Roman Empire. Neither he nor Italy were up to the task, however. As a result, Mussolini continually bit more than he or his country could chew.
That led to frequent – and often farcical – setbacks and defeats. After he dragged an unprepared Italy into WWII and bungled it badly, Mussolini’s image morphed from that of a great statesman to a hapless buffoon. It ended badly for him, when his countrymen captured him in late April, 1945, as WWII in Europe drew to a close. They executed him and his mistress, and publicly displayed both in downtown Milan, suspended by their ankles from meat hooks. As seen below, there was another side of Mussolini, one of passionate and explicit romance, that few knew about.
Il Duce’s Insatiable Appetite for Women
Whenever he got some free time, Mussolini liked to unwind with explicit romance. He especially liked to write erotic letters to his numerous mistresses and lovers. They were often cringe-worthy, as was discovered when the diary of Clara Petacci, the mistress killed and strung up by his side, came to light in 2009. For all his shortcomings, one thing Il Duce had going for him was an incredible libido and remarkable carnal stamina. As described by Petacci, Mussolini often had up to fourteen mistresses at a time, and would frequently go through three or four different women in a single evening.
Mussolini He was also jarringly loud while getting it on: “his screams seem like those of a wounded beast”, as Petacci put it. He was a total hound, who seemed to lust after every woman he met. As he described it, after his first sexual encounter with a hooker when he was seventeen: “Naked women entered my life, my dreams, my desires. I undressed them with my eyes, the girls that I met, I lusted after them violently with my thoughts”. Luckily for him, many Italian women lusted after him as well. When he was at the height of his power, thousands of women sent letters that propositioned Mussolini every day.
“I’m Bad – Hit Me, Hurt Me, Punish Me”
Mussolini’s underlings sorted the letters from female admirers into “known” and “new” piles. After police background checks on the “new” women, the photos and resumes of the more interesting ones were included in folders that were passed on to Il Duce. The ones who caught his eye – usually big breasted and broad hipped – would then be summoned for an afternoon liaison at his palace. He wasted no time, and usually got down to turning the romance physical right then and there on the carpet, against the wall, or on a stone window seat. The women who greatly pleased Mussolini were added to his many mistresses.
In his correspondence with his mistresses, Mussolini was quite explicit. For example: “Orgasm is good for you: it sharpens your thoughts, it widens your horizons, it helps your brain, makes it vivid and brilliant“. Or “Be afraid of my love. It’s like a cyclone. It’s tremendous; it overwhelms everything. You must tremble”. And “I tremble in telling you, but I have a feverish desire for your delicious little body which I want to kiss all over. And you must adore my body, your giant…”. Or “Your flesh has got me – from now on I’m a slave to your flesh”. And “I’m bad – hit me, hurt me, punish me, but don’t suffer. I love you. I think about you all day, even when I’m working”.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
Encyclopedia Britannica – Benito Mussolini
History Halls – Politicians Who Couldn’t Keep it In Their Pants: LBJ Was a Competitive Womanizer
Spiegel, November 26th, 2009 – In Bed With Benito: Sex Diaries Reveal Mussolini’s Soft Side
