Rosa Maltoni

Rosa Maltoni

Rosa Mussolini (née Maltoni; 1858-1905)[1] was the mother of Italian Fascist founder and leader Benito Mussolini. Maltoni was a devoutly Catholic schoolteacher who married Alessandro Mussolini.[2] After Benito, Rosa had two more children, Arnaldo and Edvige. She died of meningitis in 1905.[1]

Mussolini was reportedly very attached to his mother, and during the Fascist period, Rosa came to represent the ideal Italian woman.[3][4][5][6] On June 17, 1930, a ceremony was held to honor her as a "great educator and glorious mother."[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 De Giorgi, Valentina (2004). Mussolini. Glorie e disonori del primo Novecento italiano. Alpha Test.
  2. ↑ Roberts, Jeremy. Benito Mussolini. A & E; Twenty-First Century Books, 2006. Pp. 10.
  3. ↑ Borneman, John (2004). Death of the father: an anthropology of the end in political authority. Berghahn Books. p. 41.
  4. ↑ Mangan, J.A.; Fan Hong (2001). Freeing the female body: inspirational icons. Psychology Press. p. 185.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ongaro, Ercole (2006). Il lodigiano nel Novecento. La cultura. FrancoAngeli. p. 100.
  6. ↑ Dittrich-Johansen, Helga (Jul–Sep 1995). "La "Donna nuova" di Mussolini tra evasione e consumismo". Studi Storici 36 (3): 821.