The body of Il Duce : Mussolini's corpse and the fortunes of Italy / Sergio Luzzatto ; translated by Frederika Randall.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Luzzatto, Sergio, 1963-

Standardized Title:

Corpo del duce. English

Language:

English

Italian

Subjects (All):

Mussolini, Benito, 1883-1945--Death and burial.

Mussolini, Benito.

Mussolini, Benito, 1883-1945.

Heads of state--Italy--Death.

Heads of state.

Italy.

Death.

Italy--Politics and government--1945-1976.

Politics and government.

Politics and culture--Italy--History--20th century.

Politics and culture.

History.

Physical Description:

258 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Edition:

First U.S. edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt, 2005.

Summary:

Bullet-ridden, spat on, butchered bloody: this was the fate of Il Duce, strung up beside his dead mistress in a Milan square, as reviled in death as he was adored in life. With Italy's defeat in World War II, the cult of Benito Mussolini's physical self was brought to its grotesque denouement by a frenzied, jeering crowd of thousands-one eerily similar to the cheering throngs that had once roared their approval beneath Il Duce's balcony.

In this groundbreaking work, Sergio Luzzatto traces the fortunes of the dictator's body: from his charisma, virility, and magnetic domination of Fascist parades to his humiliating execution, the ugly display of his remains, and beyond. Buried, exhumed, stolen, and hidden for ten years, Il Duce's corpse was finally laid to rest, a shrine for fanatical followers. Through this pursuit, Luzzatto shows how in a totalitarian state the body of the ruler comes to incarnate the nation. And from the indignities visited on Mussolini's corpse, Luzzatto crafts a subtle social and intellectual history of a country struggling to become a republic and free itself from the thrall of Fascism.

Elegantly written and conceived, alive with abundant letters, diaries, and reports, The Body of Il Duce cuts a new and compelling path through twentieth-century history.

Contents:

1 Tough to Eradicate 13

2 The Ox of the Nation 53

3 An Unquiet Grave 81

4 Mussolini, Dear Departed 117

5 The Executioner 153

6 The Quality of Mercy 171

7 The Return of the Remains 202.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [231]-250) and index.

ISBN:

0805066462

OCLC:

56942048

Publisher Number:

9780805066463

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description