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 Villa Carpena, his family's residence in Forlì in Romagna. 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, 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. 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. They had two daughters, Alessandra and her younger sister Elisabetta. Alessandra led a small Italian far-right party often described as neofascist, Alternativa Sociale. Romano Mussolini composed the party's official anthem, "The Pride of Being Italian". With his second wife, the actress Carla Maria Puccini, 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 party into government following the 2001 general election. In 2004 he published a broadly sympathetic account of his personal recollections 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 in 2006, aged 78, in a hospital in Rome from heart problems.

Selected discography

Books