Rosa Maltoni

Rosa Maltoni was the mother of Benito, Arnaldo and Edvige Mussolini, the mother-in-law of Rachele Mussolini and the paternal grandmother of Bruno Mussolini, Edda Mussolini, Romano Mussolini, and Vittorio Mussolini. Maltoni was a nominal Catholic schoolteacher who married the socialist Alessandro Mussolini against the wishes of her father.^[2] After Benito, Rosa had three more children, Arnaldo, Laura, and Edvige. She died of meningitis in 1905 when her son, Benito Mussolini, was only 22.^[1]

Mussolini was reportedly very attached to his mother, and during the Fascist period, Rosa came to represent the ideal Italian woman.^[3][4][5][6] On 17 June 1930, a ceremony was held to honor her as a "great educator and glorious mother."^[5]