Romano Bruno Mussolini (26 September 1927 – 3 February 2006) was an Italian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist, painter, and film producer. He was the fourth child and youngest son of

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 ...

Early life and education

Romano Mussolini grew up in , his family's residence in

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...

. He studied music as a child, playing classical pieces on the piano and accompanying his father, Benito Mussolini, who played the violin. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he started playing jazz under the assumed name "Romano Full".

Musical career

His playing style has been described as "like a slightly melancholic

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

. Occasionally inspired, he was always efficient; he made the refrains run on time."

Personal life

In 1962, Mussolini married Maria Scicolone, the younger sister of actress

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the ...

. They had two daughters, Alessandra and her younger sister Elisabetta. Alessandra led a small Italian far-right party often described as

neofascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology which includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, ultraconservatism, racial supremacy, right-wing populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xen ...

, '' Alternativa Sociale''. Romano Mussolini composed the party's official anthem, "The Pride of Being Italian". With his second wife, the actress , he had a daughter, Rachele Mussolini, named after his mother Rachele Guidi. The younger Rachele has served as a member of the city council of Rome. Mussolini was very reserved about his family history until the entry of the post-fascist

National Alliance National Alliance may refer to: Electoral alliances *National Alliance (Egypt) (2015) * National Alliance (Ireland) (2024 onwards) * National Alliance (Pakistan) (2002-2004) *Nation Alliance (Turkey) (2018-2023) Political parties and organizations ...

party into government following the 2001 general election. In 2004 he published a broadly sympathetic account of his personal

recollection Recall in memory refers to the mental process of retrieving information from the past. Along with encoding and storage, it is one of the three core processes of memory. There are three main types of recall: free recall, cued recall and serial r ...

s of his father, ''Il Duce, mio padre'' (translated as ''My father, il Duce: a memoir by Mussolini's son'', alluding to the Fascist dictator's official title), including anecdotes of private confidences and discussions.

Death

Romano Mussolini died from heart problems in a hospital in Rome in 2006, aged 78.

Selected discography

* ''Mirage'' (1974) * ''Soft & Swing'' (1996) * ''The Wonderful World of Louis'' (2001) * ''Timeless Blues'' (2002) * ''Music Blues'' (2002) * ''Romano Piano & Forte'' (2002) * ''Jazz Album'' (2003) * ''Napule 'nu quarto 'e luna'' (2003) * ''Alibi perfetto'' (2004) – soundtrack

Books

References

External links

Mussolini's jazz pianist son dies
from

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Singer Helen Merrill recalls Romano Mussolini
*

from

La Repubblica (; English: "the Republic") is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper with an average circulation of 151,309 copies in May 2023. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and l ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mussolini, Romano 1927 births 2006 deaths People from Forlì 20th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 21st-century Italian painters Children of prime ministers of Italy Italian jazz pianists

Romano Romano may refer to: Food * Pecorino Romano, a hard, salty Italian cheese * Romano cheese, an American English and Canadian English term for a class of cheeses Places Italy Municipalities in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Latium * Arcinazzo Ro ...

20th-century Italian pianists 20th-century Italian male musicians 20th-century Italian male artists 21st-century Italian male artists Italian male jazz pianists