Francesco Giardinieri wrote this elegy on the occasion of the death of Bruno Mussolini (1918–1941), one of Benito Mussolini’s three sons with his wife Rachele (1890–1979). Bruno died at the age of 23 after a flying accident in 1941. Although he was an experienced pilot, he crashed into a house near the Gian Giusto Airport in Pisa and died of his injuries. Shortly after his death, in 1941, his father published a small personal book celebrating his memory, Parlo con Bruno (I Talk with Bruno), which was published again in a revised edition in 1942. Giardinieri’s poem mainly addresses Bruno’s mother Rachele. Domenico Tinozzi and Tommaso Frosini also wrote Latin texts in honor of Bruno Mussolini.

In Parlo con Bruno, Mussolini specifically cited Giardinieri’s poem, writing: “La tua morte, Bruno, ha colpito la sensibilità dei poeti. Molte poesie sono apparse sui giornali e sulle riviste. Voglio riportare qui, quelle che mi sembrano le migliori, a cominciare dalle scritte in latino” (Mussolini 1941: 149). After citing Domenico Tinozzi’s poem, he cited Giardinieri’s. In addition to their Latin poems, Mussolini moreover cited, from various sources, Italian compositions in honor of his son written by, among others, Corrado Govoni, Giovanni Chiapparini, Giuliano Maggioni, Bruno Fattori, Fernando da Cesena, and Albino Pierro.

Giardinieri’s poem was printed in both editions of Mussolini's Parlo con Bruno: Giardinieri (1941) (A) and Giardinieri (1942) (B). It was reprinted in Mussolini's Opera omnia (= Giardinieri 1961) (C). There are some differences between these editions, and it seems B offers the best text. While Mussolini did not indicate the source for Giardinieri’s poem, it seems likely it had already been published in a magazine or journal.

Bibliography

Giardinieri, Francesco. 1941. ‘[Elegy on the death of Bruno Mussolini, 1941]’. In Benito Mussolini, Parlo con Bruno, 1st ed., 150. Milan: Il popolo d’Italia.

———. 1942. ‘[Elegy on the death of Bruno Mussolini, 1941]’. In Benito Mussolini, Parlo con Bruno, 2nd ed., 129. Milan: Ulrico Hoepli.

———. 1961. ‘[Elegy on the death of Bruno Mussolini, 1941]’. In Benito Mussolini, Opera omnia, edited by Edoardo Susmel and Duilio Susmel, 34:258. Florence: La Fenice.

Han Lamers