Gino Lucetti
Born(1900-08-31)31 August 1900
Kingdom of Italy
Died17 September 1943(1943-09-17) (aged 43)
Ischia, Italy
Cause of deathAir raid
Known forAssassination attempt on Mussolini
MovementAnti-fascism, Anarchism

Gino Lucetti (31 August 1900 – 17 September 1943) was an Italian anarchist and anti-fascist who attempted to assassinate the dictator Benito Mussolini in 1926.

After World War I he was involved in many clashes and political brawls during the Biennio Rosso. He continued to oppose local fascists and on 26 September 1925, after an argument, he wounded with a pistol the fascist militant and fellow citizen Alessandro Perfetti. His companion, Antonio Vatteroni, fired back, wounding Lucetti in his neck and ear as he fled. In spite of the wound, he escaped and embarked on a ship to Marseilles. He came back to Italy under the name of Ermete Giovannini, with the intention of attacking Mussolini's life, following a plan that he claimed to have developed alone.[1]

On 11 September 1926, the day of the trial for the shooting of the previous year, in front of Porta Pia in Rome, Lucetti launched a bomb against the Lancia Lambda of Mussolini on the usual route from Villa Torlonia, his house, to his office in Palazzo Chigi. The bomb exploded on the ground, slightly injuring eight people but leaving the target unharmed.[2] When arrested by the police he said "I didn't come with a bouquet of flowers for Mussolini. But I was also willing to use the revolver if I didn't achieve my aim with the bomb".[3] He was sentenced to 30 years in prison but he was freed or he escaped in 1943 when Napoli was liberated. On 17 September 1943, he died in the island of Ischia due to an air bombardment from the Germans.[4]

The anarchist brigade "Battaglione Lucetti" of the Italian Resistance during World War II was named after him.

References

  1. ^ Marco Cesarini Sforza, Gli attentati a Mussolini, Per pochi centimetri fu sempre salvo, in La storia illustrata n°8 Anno 1965, pag. 242: "Emigrò a Marsiglia e qui, da solo, senza farne parola a nessuno, elaborò il suo progetto."
  2. ^ Marco Cesarini Sforza, Gli attentati a Mussolini, Per pochi centimetri fu sempre salvo, in La storia illustrata n°8 Anno 1965, pag. 243: "Lucetti, fermo dove la strada si restringe sulla destra di Porta Pia, lancia contro la prima vettura una bomba a mano tipo SIPE. Ma la bomba colpisce il tetto della macchina senza esplodere, rimbalza a terra e solo allora deflagra, facendo otto feriti leggeri tra i passanti."
  3. ^ Paolo, Fallai (2006-09-11). "Esplora il significato del termine: L' anarchico Gino Lucetti voleva uccidere MussoliniL' anarchico Gino Lucetti voleva uccidere Mussolini". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Archived from the original on 16 July 2010.
  4. ^ Marco Cesarini Sforza, Gli attentati a Mussolini. Per pochi centimetri fu sempre salvo, in La storia illustrata n°8 Anno 1965, pag. 243: "Nel 1943, quando gli alleati giunsero a Napoli, era ancora detenuto nel penitenziario di Ponza. Fu liberato e andò a prendere alloggio a Capri. Pochi giorni dopo, quel porticciolo venne bombardato dai tedeschi. Lucetti andò a rifugiarsi a bordo di un motoveliero che, colpito, affondò in pochi minuti trascinandolo sott'acqua."

Further reading

  • Del Boca, Lorenzo; Masso, Elisabetta (2000). Il dito dell'anarchico: storia dell'uomo che sognava di uccidere Mussolini (in Italian). Casale Monferrato (Alessandria): Piemme. ISBN 978-88-384-4703-7. OCLC 44444588.
  • Lucetti, Riccardo (2000). Gino Lucetti: l'attentato contro il duce (11 settembre 1926) (in Italian). Carrara: Coop. tipolitografica. OCLC 469599734.
  • Lucetti, Gino; Marini, Marina (2010). Lettere dal carcere dell'attentatore di Mussolini, 1930-1943 (in Italian). Casalvelino Scalo (Salerno): Galzerano. ISBN 978-88-95637-15-0. OCLC 779662605.
  • West, Nigel (2017). "Mussolini, Benito". Encyclopedia of Political Assassinations. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 173. ISBN 978-1-5381-0239-8.
Categories