{{Short description|Father of Benito Mussolini (1854–1910)}} {{For|his great-granddaughter|Alessandra Mussolini}} {{Expand Italian|topic=bio}} {{Infobox person | name = Alessandro Mussolini | image = Alessandro Mussolini.jpg | birth_date = {{birth date|1854|11|11|df=y}} | birth_place = {{ill|Montemaggiore di Predappio|it}}, Papal States | death_date = {{death date and age|1910|11|19|1854|11|11|df=y}} | death_place = Forlì, Italy | occupation = Blacksmith | spouse = {{marriage|Rosa Maltoni|1882|1905|end=d}} | children = {{hlist|Benito|Arnaldo|Edvige}} | family = Mussolini family }}
'''Alessandro Mussolini''' (11 November 1854 – 19 November 1910) was an Italian socialist activist who was the father of Benito Mussolini, the founder and leader of Italian fascism. Mussolini was a blacksmith by profession.<ref name="Roberts10">Roberts, Jeremy. ''Benito Mussolini''. A & E; Twenty-First Century Books, 2006. P. 10.</ref> He was married to Rosa Maltoni, a schoolteacher, with whom he had three children, including Benito.<ref name="Roberts10" /> He exercised considerable influence over his son Benito's early political beliefs, even naming his son Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini after three leaders he admired: Benito Juárez, Amilcare Cipriani and Andrea Costa.<ref name="Gregor29">Gregor, Anthony James. ''Young Mussolini and the intellectual origins of fascism''. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, US; London, England, UK: University of California Press, 1979. P. 29</ref>
==Personal life== On 25 January 1882, Mussolini married Rosa Maltoni, a schoolteacher and Roman Catholic.<ref name="Haugen15">Haugen, Brenda. ''Benito Mussolini: Fascist Italian Dictator''. Minneapolis, Minnesota, US: Compass Point Books, 2007. P. 15.</ref> Unlike his wife, Mussolini did not believe in God and hated the Roman Catholic Church.<ref name="Haugen16">Haugen, Brenda. ''Benito Mussolini: Fascist Italian Dictator''. Minneapolis, Minnesota, US: Compass Point Books, 2007. P. 16.</ref> Maltoni's father looked down upon her decision to marry Mussolini and did not approve of the marriage.<ref name="Haugen16"/>
In 1883, Maltoni gave birth to their first son, Benito Mussolini. Benito helped his father at the forge where Alessandro Mussolini worked as a blacksmith.<ref name="Haugen15"/> Mussolini and his son Benito were close. He taught his son about revolutionary leaders he admired such as Karl Marx.<ref>Haugen, Brenda. ''Benito Mussolini: Fascist Italian Dictator''. Minneapolis, Minnesota, US: Compass Point Books, 2007. P. 17.</ref>
Mussolini experienced a number of personal troubles; he had difficulty in finding employment and became an alcoholic.<ref name="Haugen15"/>
==Political activism and views== Mussolini entered politics in 1873 at the age of nineteen as a revolutionary socialist militant.<ref name="Gregor29"/> In 1874, Mussolini took part in political disturbances in Predappio, Italy.<ref name="Gregor29"/> Mussolini became a member of local government and was known by authorities for controversy and political violence against opponents.<ref name="Roberts10"/> Mussolini was ill-tempered towards his opponents and in 1878, police warned Mussolini to cease threatening his opponents with the destruction of their property.<ref>Roberts, Jeremy. ''Benito Mussolini''. A & E; Twenty-First Century Books, 2006. P. 11.</ref> He was arrested in 1878 on the suspicion of taking part in revolutionary activities and remained under house arrest until authorities released him in 1882 so that he could attend his marriage to Rosa Maltoni.<ref name="Haugen15"/>
Mussolini believed that the government should control the mode of production and that working conditions needed to be improved, and supported the creation of a society run by the working-class.<ref name="Roberts10"/>
Mussolini held Italian nationalist sentiments and idolized Italian nationalist figures with socialist or humanist tendencies such as Carlo Pisacane, Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi.<ref name="Gregor29"/> Alessandro Mussolini's political outlook combined the views of anarchist figures like Carlo Cafiero and Mikhail Bakunin, the military authoritarianism of Garibaldi, and the nationalism of Mazzini.<ref>Gregor, Anthony James. ''Young Mussolini and the intellectual origins of fascism''. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, US; London, England, UK: University of California Press, 1979. P. 31.</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mussolini, Alessandro}} Category:Italian socialists Category:1854 births Category:1910 deaths Category:Italian atheists Category:Italian blacksmiths Alessandro