Mussolini’s secret daughter died at the age of 99

A secret daughter of Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini is dead: Elena Curti died on Monday at the age of 99 at her home in Acquapendente, north of Rome. The mourning ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, Italian media reported.

Curti was born on October 19, 1922 in Milan to Angela Cucciati, a seamstress. Cucciati had become Mussolini’s mistress in 1921 after meeting him to lobby for her husband’s release. The fascist squadron commander Bruno Curti had been arrested because of a fight with some comrades.

Elena Curti only found out that she was Mussolini’s biological daughter when she was 20 years old. The first official meeting between Mussolini and his daughter took place on April 13, 1941 in Rome. In the years that followed, Elena met her father about thirty times.

On the run

To the end, she showed her attachment to her biological father so much that she followed him to his tragic end: when the fascist dictator was arrested by partisans on April 27, 1945 in Dongo on Lake Como, Elena Curti was in one of the armored cars who accompanied the fleeing fascist officials.

Mussolini was executed the next day along with his lover Clara Petacci and other supporters, and their bodies were then hung for public display in Milan.

Elena Curti was also arrested by the partisans and taken to Como, where she was imprisoned for five months. Her mother testified before the Deputy Judge in Como that she was Mussolini’s biological daughter, thus avoiding a trial.

At least nine children

The first to tell the Curtis story was the journalist and writer Antonio Spinosa in his book “I figli del Duce” (The Duce’s Children). In 2003, Elena Curti published the book “Il chiodo a tre punte” (The three-pointed nail) with her memories of the Duce.

After living in Spain for more than 40 years, Curti, never recognized by the fascist dictator, returned to Italy around the year 2000 and settled in Acquapendente. In 2008 she lost her husband, Enrico Miranda, an air force lieutenant whom the Duce had decorated for his heroic conduct as a pilot in the Battle of Pantelleria.

Mussolini had five children with his wife Rachele Guidi. He is also credited with at least four illegitimate children, including Elena Curti.