Editing Romano Mussolini

{{short description|Italian jazz pianist, painter, and film producer (1927–2006)}}
{{for|his grandson, a footballer|Romano Floriani Mussolini}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Romano Mussolini
| image              = File:Romano_Mussolini.jpg
| caption            = Romano Mussolini in 1932
| birth_name         = Romano Bruno Mussolini
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1927|9|26|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Forlì]], Italy
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2006|2|3|1927|9|26|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Rome]], Italy
| years_active       = 1945–2006
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Maria Scicolone]]|1962|end=div}}
* {{ill|Carla M. Puccini|it|Carla Maria Puccini}}
}}
| children           = 3, including [[Alessandra Mussolini|Alessandra]] and [[Rachele Mussolini (politician)|Rachele]]
| parents            = [[Benito Mussolini]] <br>[[Rachele Guidi]]
| relatives          = [[Sophia Loren]] (former sister-in-law)<br/>[[Romano Floriani Mussolini]] (grandson)
| occupation         = {{hlist|Jazz pianist|painter|film producer}}
}}
'''Romano Bruno Mussolini''' (26 September 1927 –&nbsp;3 February 2006) was an Italian [[jazz]] pianist, painter, and film producer.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/obituaries/same-name-different-fame/2006/03/17/1142582520356.html?page=2 | newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald | title=Same name, different fame | date=March 18, 2006}}</ref> He was the fourth child and youngest son of [[Benito Mussolini]].

==Early life and education==
Romano Mussolini grew up in {{ill|Villa Carpena|it}}, his family's residence in [[Forlì]] in [[Romagna]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Frasca |first1=Simona |last2=Vizzaccaro |first2=Federico |title=Mussolini, Romano |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/romano-mussolini_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ |encyclopedia=Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani |publisher=[[Treccani]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240325231302/https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/romano-mussolini_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ |archive-date=25 March 2024 |language=it | volume=77  |date=2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> He studied music as a child, playing classical pieces on the piano and accompanying his father, Benito Mussolini, who played<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chornik |first1=Katia |title=El violìn de Mussolini |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/misc/newsid_2159000/2159645.stm |website=[[BBC Mundo]] |publisher=BBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317051611/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/misc/newsid_2159000/2159645.stm |archive-date=17 March 2024 |language=es |date=29 July 2002 |url-status=live}}</ref> the violin. After [[World War II]], he started playing jazz under the assumed name "Romano Full".<ref name=Grove>{{Cite Grove |last=Mazzoletti |first=Adriano|author-link=Adriano Mazzoletti |title=Romano Mussolini}}</ref>

== Musical career ==
His playing style has been described as "like a slightly melancholic [[Oscar Peterson]]. Occasionally inspired, he was always efficient; he made the refrains run on time."<ref name="Romano Mussolini 2006">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/05/he-made-the-refrains-run-on-time/4782|title=He made the refrains run on time|first=Mark|last=Steyn|magazine=The Atlantic Monthly|date=May 2006}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
In 1962, Mussolini married [[Maria Scicolone]], the younger sister of actress [[Sophia Loren]]. They had two daughters, [[Alessandra Mussolini|Alessandra]] and her younger sister Elisabetta.  Alessandra led a small Italian far-right party often described as [[Neo-Fascism|neofascist]], ''[[Alternativa Sociale]]''. Romano Mussolini composed the party's official anthem, "The Pride of Being Italian".<ref name="Romano Mussolini 2006"/>

With his second wife, the actress {{ill|Carla Maria Puccini|it}}, he had a daughter, [[Rachele Mussolini (politician)|Rachele Mussolini]], named after his mother [[Rachele Guidi]]. The younger Rachele has served as a member of the city council of Rome.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/10/06/rachele-mussolini-fascist-dictator-s-granddaughter-wins-most-votes-in-rome-s-municipal-ele | title=Rachele Mussolini: Fascist dictator's granddaughter wins most votes in Rome's municipal elections | publisher=Euronews | date=6 October 2021 | accessdate= 6 October 2021}}</ref>

Mussolini was very reserved about his family history until the entry of the post-fascist [[National Alliance (Italy)|National Alliance]] party into government following the [[2001 Italian general election|2001 general election]].<ref name=Stille2006/> In 2004 he published a broadly sympathetic account of his personal [[recollection]]s of his father, ''Il Duce, mio padre'' (translated as ''My father, il Duce: a memoir by Mussolini's son'', alluding to [[Duce|the Fascist dictator's official title]]), including anecdotes of private confidences and discussions.<ref name=Stille2006>{{cite book |title=My father il Duce: a memoir by Mussolini's son |first=Romano  |last=Mussolini |contribution=Introductory essay by [[Alexander Stille]]|location=San Diego, CA |publisher=Kales Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-9670076-8-2 |quote=Writing the introductory essay to ''My Father Il Duce'' is a bit like writing the warning label on a powerful drug that has its uses but must be taken with care and knowledge of its potential side effects. The greatest benefit, perhaps, is understanding the evasions and self-deceptions of a certain kind of revisionist history and the conscious and unconscious manipulation of memory in learning to accept the unacceptable.}}</ref>

==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==
* {{cite book
|title=My father il Duce: a memoir by Mussolini's son
|first=Romano 
|last=Mussolini
|translator-last1=Stojanovic 
|translator-first1=Ana 
|others=Introductory essay by [[Alexander Stille]]
|location=San Diego, CA
|publisher=Kales Press
|year=2006
|orig-year=2004
|isbn=0-9670076-8-2
|url=https://archive.org/details/myfatherilduceme00muss
|url-access=registration
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4676934.stm Mussolini's jazz pianist son dies] from [[BBC News]]
*[http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=23366 Singer Helen Merrill recalls Romano Mussolini]
*{{IMDb name|id=0615909|name=Romano Mussolini}}
*[http://www.repubblica.it/2006/b/sezioni/spettacoli_e_cultura/mussolini/mussolini/mussolini.html E' morto Romano Mussolini, il figlio jazzista del duce] from [[La Repubblica]] {{in lang|it}}

{{Benito Mussolini}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mussolini, Romano}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Forlì]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian painters]]
[[Category:Italian male painters]]
[[Category:21st-century Italian painters]]
[[Category:Children of prime ministers of Italy]]
[[Category:Italian jazz pianists]]
[[Category:Mussolini family|Romano]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian pianists]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian male artists]]
[[Category:21st-century Italian male artists]]
[[Category:Italian male jazz pianists]]