Italian Forces

Married bliss.

Edda Mussolini-Ciano (in fantastic bathing cap) and Count Galeazzo Ciano on the beach. Hard to know what to make of this marriage. On the one hand, Ciano (like Papa Mussolini) was an inveterate womaniser and (in his case) brothel patron. Edda did rather a lot of drinking, and was also known for "consoling" herself on the amorous front. On the other, they had three children (Edda is supposed to have wanted only one), and were a very good working partnership, with Edda having a huge talent for the role of the old-fashioned diplomatic wife. She remained loyal to him to the end, attempting to flee with him to Spain (their plane was forced down by the Germans with Mussolini's agreement, and they were sent back to the RSI), and pleading with the Duce for clemency on Ciano's behalf. That the Duce did not heed this plea may be due to anger at Ciano's betrayal (as he would have seen it) at the Fascist Grand Council; though I am inclined to think it had more to do with the hostility of the Germans towards Ciano (he did not like them very much, either), and Mussolini was not in much of a position to say no to the Germans at this stage. However much he loved his daughter - and he seems to have loved her very much. Best regards, JR.