My Father Il Duce: A Memoir by Mussolini's Son
ROMANO MUSSOLINI

Introductory Essay by Alexander Stille

In this historical, revisionist memoir, the author offers a son’s unique perspective through never-before-published revelations steeped in intimate details of Mussolini’s many adulteries; his sense of supremacy and destiny for greatness; his alliance with Hitler; and finally, his detachment from reality. Mussolini is further humanized as a caring family man who encouraged education and wept at his daughter’s wedding.

My Father Il Duce was published to great attention in Italy and quickly became a best-seller illuminating the modern revival of fascism and the ongoing attraction to Mussolini’s cult-like following. Alexander Stille, recognized worldwide as one of the foremost authorities on Italian political culture, brilliantly confronts this memoir’s account to remind us of the continuing need for vigilance in our pursuit of truth.

Publishers Weekly
“An interesting self-portrait of faith, denial and the blinding power of a son's love.”

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Library Journal
“Offers insight into Mussolini's complex character … a readable and controversial memoir.”

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Booklist
“Given the resurgence of neo-Fascist political parties in Italy, this is a disturbing, relevant effort.”

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Midwest Book Review
“Reveals the human, family side of a complex historical figure. Highly recommended.”

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ACADEMIA

American Association for Italian Studies (AAIS) 2007 Annual Conference
Colorado Springs, Colorado, from May 3 through May 6, 2007
Friday, May 4th
Plenary Speaker
Alexander Stille, Columbia University
“The Memoirs of Romano Mussolini — Fascism in the Age of Berlusconi”

American Association of Teachers of Italian (AATI) 2007 Annual Conference
Washington, DC., from October 11 through October 13, 2007
Saturday, October 13th
Panel Discussion
Chair: Barbara Zaczek, Clemson University
Sergio Ferrarese, College of William and Mary
Samuele F. S. Pardini, Elon University
Antony Shugaar, Gore, VA
“Romano: Revisionism, Relevance, and Responsibility. A Discussion of My Father Il Duce: A Memoir by Mussolini's Son by Romano Mussolini”

American Association for Italian Studies / American Association of Teachers of Italian 2008 Joint Convention
Taormina, Sicily from May 22-25, 2008
Thursday, May 22nd
Open Forum
Organizers:
Barbara Zaczek, Clemson University
Stanislao G. Pugliese, Hofstra University
“A Pleasant Fascist. A Presentation and Discussion of Romano Mussolini’s My Father Il Duce: A Memoir by Mussolini’s Son”

link to open forum advance reading materials

Additional videos will be presented at the session. Special thank you to RAI TECHE for permission to show footage of the interview with Romano Mussolini on the October 20th, 2004 national broadcast of Porta a Porta

R.J.B. Bosworth, University of Western Australia
“Alexander Stille's brilliant introduction [is a] sensitive contextualization.”

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Robert O. Paxton, Columbia University
“Alexander Stille has indeed done an excellent job with the preface.”

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Stanislao Pugliese, Hofstra University
“Romano Mussolini's book tells us more about Italy and the Italians, and perhaps ourselves as well, than we might care to admit.”

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More About the Authors

Romano Mussolini, born in Italy (September 26, 1927 - February 3, 2006), went on to become a distinguished jazz musician, recording ten albums, most notably the internationally acclaimed Jazz Studio 7. He collaborated with some of the greatest jazz artists of all time including Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, and Tony Scott.

Yet after World War II, the self-taught musician faced a bitter struggle to assimilate back into society. In Rome, he said he sold chickens to survive. His surname was cursed and for a while he performed music under the stage name Romano Full. Eventually, he came to realize the marketing advantages of his true surname and resumed his identity as Romano Mussolini in the 1960s when his All Stars ensemble won critical acclaim.

His whole life he refrained from discussing his father's legacy until publishing at age seventy-seven in 2004 in Italy, “before it was too late,” his memoir Il Duce Mio Padre (My Father Il Duce). His first marriage was in 1962 to Maria Sciccolone, a jazz singer and younger sister of famed actress Sophia Loren. The couple had two daughters, Elisabetta and Alessandra, though ultimately divorced after years of marital estrangement. In 1990 Romano married actress Carla Puccini, with whom he had a daughter Rachele. Both wives and their children survive him. He lived in Rome until his passing.

Alexander Stille is recognized worldwide as one of the foremost authorities on Italian political culture. He is the acclaimed author of Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families under Fascism (Simon & Schuster, 1991), Excellent Cadavers: The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic (Pantheon, 1995), The Future of the Past (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002; HBO film, 1999), and The Sack of Rome: How a Beautiful European Country with a Fabled History and a Storied Culture Was Taken Over by a Man Named Silvio Berlusconi (Penguin 2006).

He is a regular contributor to The New York Times and to one of Italy's most influential newspapers La Repubblica. Other publications and broadcasts he contributes to include Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, U.S. News & World Report, CBS, and PBS. In addition, he serves as a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He lives in New York.