Alessandro Mussolini (11 November 1854 – 19 November 1910) was the father of

Italian Fascist Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

founder and leader

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

, the father of Arnaldo and

Edvige Mussolini Edvige Mussolini (; 10 November 1888 – 20 May 1952) was the younger sister of Arnaldo and Benito Mussolini. Biography Edvige was the daughter of Alessandro Mussolini, a blacksmith and activist, first anarchist and later socialist, as well as ...

, the father-in-law of Rachele Mussolini, and the paternal grandfather of

Edda Mussolini Edda Ciano, Countess of Cortellazzo and Buccari ( Mussolini; 1 September 1910 – 9 April 1995) was the daughter of Benito Mussolini, fascist dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943. Her husband, the fascist propagandist and Foreign Minister Galeaz ...

Romano Mussolini Romano Bruno Mussolini (26 September 1927 – 3 February 2006) was an Italian jazz pianist, painter, and film producer. He was the fourth child and youngest son of Benito Mussolini. Early life and education Romano Mussolini grew up in , his ...

Vittorio Mussolini Vittorio Mussolini (27 September 1916 – 12 June 1997) was an Italian film critic and producer. He was also the second child of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. However, he was the first officially acknowledged son of Mussolini, with his se ...

and

Bruno Mussolini Bruno Mussolini (22 April 1918 – 7 August 1941) was the son of Prime Minister of Italy Benito Mussolini and Mussolini's second wife Rachele, the nephew of Arnaldo Mussolini, and also the grandson of Alessandro Mussolini and Rosa Mussolini. ...

. He was an Italian

revolutionary socialist Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revolu ...

activist with

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

sympathies.Gregor, Anthony James. ''Young Mussolini and the intellectual origins of fascism''. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, US; London, England, UK: University of California Press, 1979. Pp. 29 Mussolini was a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

by profession.Roberts, Jeremy. ''Benito Mussolini''. A & E; Twenty-First Century Books, 2006. Pp. 10. He was married to Rosa Maltoni, a schoolteacher, who became the mother of Benito Mussolini, and exercised considerable influence over his son Benito's early political beliefs, even naming his son Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini after three leaders he admired:

Benito Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Mexican politician, military commander, and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. A Zapotec peoples, Zapotec, he w ...

Amilcare Cipriani Amilcare Cipriani (18 October 1844 in Anzio – 30 April 1918 in Paris)Andrea Costa Andrea Costa (29 November 1851 – 19 January 1910) was an Italian socialist politician. Among the founders of the Italian socialist movement, he was the first socialist deputy in Italian history. Biography Andrea Costa was born on 29 November ...

Personal life

On 25 January 1882, Mussolini married Rosa Maltoni, a schoolteacher and

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

.Haugen, Brenda. ''Benito Mussolini: Fascist Italian Dictator''. Minneapolis, Minnesota, US: Compass Point Books, 2007. Pp. 15. Unlike his wife, Mussolini did not believe in God and hated the Roman Catholic Church.Haugen, Brenda. ''Benito Mussolini: Fascist Italian Dictator''. Minneapolis, Minnesota, US: Compass Point Books, 2007. Pp. 16. Maltoni's father looked down upon her decision to marry Mussolini and did not approve of the marriage. In 1883, Maltoni gave birth to their first son,

. Benito helped his father at the forge where Alessandro Mussolini worked as a blacksmith. Mussolini and his son Benito were close. He taught his son about revolutionary leaders he admired such as

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

. Mussolini experienced a number of personal troubles; he had difficulty in finding employment and became an

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

Political activism and views

Mussolini entered politics in 1873 at the age of nineteen as a revolutionary socialist militant. In 1874, Mussolini took part in political disturbances in

Predappio Predappio ( , ; or ) is a (municipality) in the province of Forlì-Cesena, in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, with a population of 6,135 as of 1 January 2021. The town is best known for being the birthplace of Benito Mussolini, founder of ...

, Italy. Mussolini became a member of local government and was known by authorities for controversy and political violence against opponents. Mussolini was ill-tempered towards his opponents and in 1878, police warned Mussolini to cease threatening his opponents with the destruction of their property. He was arrested in 1878 on the suspicion of taking part in revolutionary activities and remained under house arrest until authorities released him in 1882 so that he could attend his marriage to Rosa Maltoni. Mussolini believed that the government should control the

mode of production In the Marxist theory of historical materialism, a mode of production (German: ''Produktionsweise'', "the way of producing") is a specific combination of the: * Productive forces: these include human labour power and means of production (tools, ...

and that working conditions needed to be improved, and supported the creation of a society run by the working-class. Mussolini held Italian nationalist sentiments and idolized Italian nationalist figures with socialist or

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

tendencies such as

Carlo Pisacane Carlo Pisacane, Duke of San Giovanni (1818–1857) was an Italian patriot and one of the first Italian socialist thinkers. He was an early advocate of propaganda by deed, arguing that violence was necessary not only to draw attention to, or gen ...

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, ; ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the ...

and

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

. Alessandro Mussolini's political outlook combined the views of

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

figures like

Carlo Cafiero Carlo Cafiero (1 September 1846 – 17 July 1892) was an Italian anarchist that led the Italian section of the International Workingmen's Association (IWA). An early leader of the Marxist and anarchist communist movements in Italy, he was a key ...

and

Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin. Sometimes anglicized to Michael Bakunin. ( ; – 1 July 1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist. He is among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major figure in the revolutionary socialist, s ...

, the military authoritarianism of Garibaldi, and the nationalism of Mazzini.Gregor, Anthony James. ''Young Mussolini and the intellectual origins of fascism''. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, US; London, England, UK: University of California Press, 1979. Pp. 31.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mussolini, Alessandro Italian socialists 1854 births 1910 deaths Italian atheists Italian blacksmiths Alessandro