Donna Rachele Mussolini (11 April 1890 – 30 October 1979) was the mistress, wife, and widow of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
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Rachele Mussolini was born Rachele Guidi in Predappio, Romagna, Kingdom of Italy (Regno d'Italia). She was born into a peasant family and was the daughter of Agostino Guidi and wife Anna Lombardi.
In 1910, Rachele Guidi moved in with Benito Mussolini. In 1914, Mussolini married his first wife Ida Dalser. On 17 December 1915, Rachele Guidi and Benito Mussolini were married in a civil ceremony in Treviglio, Lombardy. In 1925, they renewed their vows in a religious service (after Mussolini's rise to power).
Rachele Mussolini bore five children by Benito Mussolini and she was willing to ignore his various mistresses. Rachele and Benito Mussolini had two daughters, Edda (1910-1995) and Anna Maria (1929-1968), and three sons Vittorio (1916-1997), Bruno (1918-1941), and Romano (1927-2006).
During the reign of Mussolini's Fascist regime, Rachele Mussolini was portrayed as the model Fascist housewife and mother. She remained loyal to Mussolini until the end. But, on 28 April 1945, she was not with Mussolini when he and his mistress, Claretta Petacci, were captured and executed by Italian partisans. Rachele Mussolini fled Italy after World War II but, in 1945, was arrested in Switzerland by Italian partisans. She was turned over to the Americans and was released after several months.
In her later life, Rachele Mussolini ran a restaurant. She also received a pension from the Republic of Italy (Repubblica Italiana) until her death. After her husband's death, she begged to have his body for private burial.
With Albert Zarca she wrote a biography of her husband, translated into English as Mussolini: An Intimate Biography.[1]
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