Alessandra Mussolini
Encyclopedia
Alessandra Mussolini is an Italian
politician
, the granddaughter of Benito Mussolini
, and previously an actress and model
. She is the founder and former leader of the national conservative
political party Social Action; from 2004 until 2008, Mussolini also served as Member of the European Parliament
, and has since been a member of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Italian Parliament, for the ruling People of Freedom party.
Some of Mussolini's noted stances are in regards to social views on women's and child
ren's rights and role within both the family unit and society in general.
, the daughter of Romano Mussolini
, the fourth son of the Fascist
leader Benito Mussolini
, and Anna Maria Villani Scicolone
(born 11 May 1938, Rome). The actress Sophia Loren
is her maternal aunt.
From 1976 to 1980 she went to high school at the American Overseas School of Rome
. She graduated in 1986 from Università di Rimini, where she got her Master of Arts
in film management.
She married customs police officer Mauro Floriani on 28 October 1989. Bucking tradition, she proposed to him. Together they have three children, Caterina, Clarissa, and Romano – the latter named after his grandfather. Later, the children have adopted their mother's surname, but she went through a complex legal process to allow them to do so. She has since campaigned for Italian law to be changed to allow all children to take their mother's last name if they wish so.
Mussolini was taken under the wing of her aunt Sophia Loren
for a while and started a career as an actress in the Italian language
film industry
during the 1970s. A Special Day
(1977), in which she had a minor role as "Maria Luisa", won an American Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
.
During 1982, Mussolini released a pop music
album of romantic songs under the title Amore on Alfa Records
; the album was released only in Japan
and has since become somewhat of a collectors item. Mussolini also appeared as a glamour model, including on the cover of two European editions of Playboy
, in Italy (August 1983) and Germany (November 1983). "When you are an actress, you are dealing with the body. Every actress does topless and stuff like this; you have to.", she has said.
Mussolini continued as an actress into the 1980s. Some of the films she featured in were made for Italian television. However, she still acted in standard cinematic films, such as The Assisi Underground where she played a nun
; the movie focused on the Roman Catholic Church
rescuing Italian Jews
from the Nazis in 1943. She starred in her final film in 1990 and then left the film industry to continue studying after a producer asked her to change her name.
constituency as a member of the Movimento Sociale Italiano
(MSI).
She later was a candidate for the post of mayor of Naples, but was defeated by Antonio Bassolino
. Her relations with Gianfranco Fini
, leader of the Alleanza Nazionale, never were very good, she announced; she then withdrew later, her resignation due to differences with him at least once. She unsuccessfully challenged him for leadership of the party when he withdrew support for Benito Mussolini in a television interview in January 2002.
Mussolini suddenly left National Alliance on 28 November 2003, following the visit of party leader and the Deputy Prime Minister Gianfranco Fini
to Israel
, where he described fascism
as "the absolute evil" as he apologised for Italy's role as an Axis Power
during the Second World War
. Mussolini however defended the right of Israel to exist and declared that the world "should beg forgiveness of Israel".
Following her resignation, Mussolini formed her Social Action party, originally named "Freedom of Action", and organised a coalition named Social Alternative. The move was read in the Italian media as surprising move because of Mussolini's "progressive" stances on many issues, including abortion
, artificial insemination
, gay rights and civil union
s. She has been an outspoken "feminist" and has been described by conservative commentators as a "socialist" and a "left-winger".
In the European Parliament Election, 2004
her electoral list, Social Alternative, gained 1.2% of the vote. Mussolini herself received 133,000 preference votes.
In response to a comment made by UKIP MEP
Godfrey Bloom
where he said that "No self-respecting small businessman with a brain in the right place would ever employ a lady of child-bearing age. That isn't politically correct, is it, but it's a fact of life. The more women's rights you have, it's actually a bar to their employment." and: "I just don't think [women] clean behind the fridge enough," Mussolini responded by saying
In March 2005, Mussolini was banned by a local court from regional elections held the following month for presenting fraudulent signatures. "This is an affront to democracy, if they're going to exclude the Social Alternative they will have to exclude all the parties, because all the signature lists are false", Mussolini told Reuters. Mussolini went on a hunger strike to protest the decision. However, at the end of the month Italy's top administrative court, the Council of State
, annulled the decision and she stood for election.
In 2006 she responded to claims by the transgender
Italian M.P. candidate Vladimir Luxuria
that she was a 'fascist' with the line "Meglio fascista che frocio" ("It is better to be a fascist than a faggot").
In November 2007, remarks by Mussolini triggered the collapse of the far-right Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty
grouping within the European Parliament. Mussolini declared that all Romanians were criminals in remarks regarding immigration policy. This prompted delegates from the Greater Romania Party
to quit the group, bringing the group below the minimum number of members to qualify as a caucus and receive Parliament funding.
After the Italian general elections of April 2008, Mussolini serves as a member of the Italian parliament within Silvio Berlusconi
's alliance of right wing parties, The People of Freedom
.
Mussolini condemned the Vatican
's comparison of homosexuality
with pedophilia
, stating "You can't link sexual orientation to pedophilia ... this link risks becoming dangerously misleading for the protection of children."
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, the granddaughter of Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, and previously an actress and model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
. She is the founder and former leader of the national conservative
National conservatism
National conservatism is a political term used primarily in Europe to describe a variant of conservatism which concentrates more on national interests than standard conservatism as well as upholding cultural and ethnic identity, while not being outspokenly nationalist or supporting a far-right...
political party Social Action; from 2004 until 2008, Mussolini also served as Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
, and has since been a member of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Italian Parliament, for the ruling People of Freedom party.
Some of Mussolini's noted stances are in regards to social views on women's and child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren's rights and role within both the family unit and society in general.
Personal life
Alessandra Mussolini was born in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, the daughter of Romano Mussolini
Romano Mussolini
Romano Mussolini was the fourth and youngest son of Benito Mussolini, fascist dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943...
, the fourth son of the Fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
leader Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, and Anna Maria Villani Scicolone
Anna Maria Villani Scicolone
Anna Maria Villani Scicolone is the divorced wife of Romano Mussolini who was the youngest son of Benito Mussolini, fascist dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943...
(born 11 May 1938, Rome). The actress Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
is her maternal aunt.
From 1976 to 1980 she went to high school at the American Overseas School of Rome
American Overseas School of Rome
The American Overseas School of Rome is a private international school in Rome, Italy, accredited by the United States-based Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. It has three divisions: Elementary School, Middle School and High School. It primarily caters to the international...
. She graduated in 1986 from Università di Rimini, where she got her Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in film management.
She married customs police officer Mauro Floriani on 28 October 1989. Bucking tradition, she proposed to him. Together they have three children, Caterina, Clarissa, and Romano – the latter named after his grandfather. Later, the children have adopted their mother's surname, but she went through a complex legal process to allow them to do so. She has since campaigned for Italian law to be changed to allow all children to take their mother's last name if they wish so.
Entertainment career
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
for a while and started a career as an actress in the Italian language
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
film industry
Film industry
The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...
during the 1970s. A Special Day
A Special Day
A Special Day is a 1977 Italian language film which tells the story of a housewife and her neighbor who stay at home in Rome on the day that Adolf Hitler visits Benito Mussolini. It stars Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni and John Vernon, and was directed by Ettore Scola. The film was a...
(1977), in which she had a minor role as "Maria Luisa", won an American Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony.Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured...
and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
.
During 1982, Mussolini released a pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
album of romantic songs under the title Amore on Alfa Records
Alfa Records
, originally Alfa Music, was established in 1969 by composer and record producer Kunihiko Murai. It was formed into an independent record label known as Alfa Records in 1977.- History :The company faced much hardship in the 1990s...
; the album was released only in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and has since become somewhat of a collectors item. Mussolini also appeared as a glamour model, including on the cover of two European editions of Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, in Italy (August 1983) and Germany (November 1983). "When you are an actress, you are dealing with the body. Every actress does topless and stuff like this; you have to.", she has said.
Mussolini continued as an actress into the 1980s. Some of the films she featured in were made for Italian television. However, she still acted in standard cinematic films, such as The Assisi Underground where she played a nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
; the movie focused on the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
rescuing Italian Jews
Italian Jews
Italian Jews can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living or with roots in Italy or in a narrower sense to mean the ancient community who use the Italian rite, as distinct from the communities dating from medieval or modern times who use the Sephardi or Ashkenazi rite.-Divisions:Italian...
from the Nazis in 1943. She starred in her final film in 1990 and then left the film industry to continue studying after a producer asked her to change her name.
Political career
In 1992, she was elected to parliament in a NaplesNaples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
constituency as a member of the Movimento Sociale Italiano
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement , and later the Italian Social Movement–National Right , was a neo-fascist and post-fascist political party in Italy. Formed in 1946 by supporters of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the party became the fourth largest party in Italy by the early 1960s...
(MSI).
She later was a candidate for the post of mayor of Naples, but was defeated by Antonio Bassolino
Antonio Bassolino
Antonio Bassolino, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian politician. He has been President of the Campania region from 2000 to 2010.-Biography:Bassolino was born in Afragola, Campania...
. Her relations with Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini is an Italian politician, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, leader of the center-right Future and Freedom party, and the former leader of the conservative National Alliance and the post-fascist Italian Social Movement...
, leader of the Alleanza Nazionale, never were very good, she announced; she then withdrew later, her resignation due to differences with him at least once. She unsuccessfully challenged him for leadership of the party when he withdrew support for Benito Mussolini in a television interview in January 2002.
Mussolini suddenly left National Alliance on 28 November 2003, following the visit of party leader and the Deputy Prime Minister Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini is an Italian politician, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, leader of the center-right Future and Freedom party, and the former leader of the conservative National Alliance and the post-fascist Italian Social Movement...
to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, where he described fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
as "the absolute evil" as he apologised for Italy's role as an Axis Power
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Mussolini however defended the right of Israel to exist and declared that the world "should beg forgiveness of Israel".
Following her resignation, Mussolini formed her Social Action party, originally named "Freedom of Action", and organised a coalition named Social Alternative. The move was read in the Italian media as surprising move because of Mussolini's "progressive" stances on many issues, including abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, artificial insemination
Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
, gay rights and civil union
Civil union
A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights,...
s. She has been an outspoken "feminist" and has been described by conservative commentators as a "socialist" and a "left-winger".
In the European Parliament Election, 2004
European Parliament election, 2004
Elections to the European Parliament were held from 10 June 2004 to 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom...
her electoral list, Social Alternative, gained 1.2% of the vote. Mussolini herself received 133,000 preference votes.
In response to a comment made by UKIP MEP
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
Godfrey Bloom
Godfrey Bloom
Godfrey Bloom is a Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber for the United Kingdom Independence Party...
where he said that "No self-respecting small businessman with a brain in the right place would ever employ a lady of child-bearing age. That isn't politically correct, is it, but it's a fact of life. The more women's rights you have, it's actually a bar to their employment." and: "I just don't think [women] clean behind the fridge enough," Mussolini responded by saying
In March 2005, Mussolini was banned by a local court from regional elections held the following month for presenting fraudulent signatures. "This is an affront to democracy, if they're going to exclude the Social Alternative they will have to exclude all the parties, because all the signature lists are false", Mussolini told Reuters. Mussolini went on a hunger strike to protest the decision. However, at the end of the month Italy's top administrative court, the Council of State
Italian Council of State
The Consiglio di Stato is a legal-administrative consultative body and ensures the legality of public administration in Italy. The council has jurisdiction on acts of all administrative authorities, except when these authorities lack discretionary power, in which case the dispute is considered to...
, annulled the decision and she stood for election.
In 2006 she responded to claims by the transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
Italian M.P. candidate Vladimir Luxuria
Vladimir Luxuria
Vladimir Luxuria born Wladimiro Guadagno in Foggia, Apulia is an Italian actress, writer, politician and television personality. Luxuria was a Communist Refoundation Party member of the Italian parliament, belonging to Romano Prodi's L'Unione coalition...
that she was a 'fascist' with the line "Meglio fascista che frocio" ("It is better to be a fascist than a faggot").
In November 2007, remarks by Mussolini triggered the collapse of the far-right Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty
Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty
thumb|right|Group logoIdentity, Tradition, Sovereignty was a political group in the European Parliament composed of 23 members from European parties variously described as right-wing and nationalist...
grouping within the European Parliament. Mussolini declared that all Romanians were criminals in remarks regarding immigration policy. This prompted delegates from the Greater Romania Party
Greater Romania Party
The Greater Romania Party is a Romanian radical right-wing, ultra-nationalist political party, led by Corneliu Vadim Tudor. The party is sometimes referred to in English as the Great Romania Party....
to quit the group, bringing the group below the minimum number of members to qualify as a caucus and receive Parliament funding.
After the Italian general elections of April 2008, Mussolini serves as a member of the Italian parliament within Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
's alliance of right wing parties, The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system....
.
Mussolini condemned the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
's comparison of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
with pedophilia
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
, stating "You can't link sexual orientation to pedophilia ... this link risks becoming dangerously misleading for the protection of children."
Filmography
- Bianco, rosso e... (1972)
- A Special DayA Special DayA Special Day is a 1977 Italian language film which tells the story of a housewife and her neighbor who stay at home in Rome on the day that Adolf Hitler visits Benito Mussolini. It stars Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni and John Vernon, and was directed by Ettore Scola. The film was a...
(1977) - Il Caso Pupetta Maresca (1982) (TV film), with Alessandra Mussolini as Pupetta MarescaPupetta MarescaAssunta Maresca better known as known as Pupetta was a former beauty queen who became a well-known figure in the Camorra...
- Il Tassinaro (1983)
- Qualcosa di biondo (1984)
- The Assisi UndergroundThe Assisi UndergroundThe Assisi Underground: The Priests Who Rescued Jews is a 1978 novel written by Alexander Ramati based on a true-life account, told by Father Rufino Niccacci, of events surrounding the effort to hide 300 Jews in the town of Assisi, Italy during World War II.-Plot:In the Italian town of Assisi...
(1985) - Ferragosto O.K. (1986) (TV film)
- Noi uomini duri (1987)
- Vincere per vincere (1988) (TV film)
- Sabato, domenica e lunedì (1990) (TV film)
- Ha-Derech L'Ein Harod (1990)
External links
- Profile on the Italian Parliament website
- European Parliament CV
- Official website of Alternativa Sociale
- Interview with Alessandra Mussolini by Antonella Ricciardi, 19 May 2005
- Audio interview with Alessandra Mussolini from the Canadian Broadcasting CorporationCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
, 30 March 2006 (RAM format) - Alessandra Mussolini Playboy magazine covers at PBCovers.com