- published: 06 Jun 2010
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Giulino (better known as Giulino di Mezzegra) is an Italian frazione of the Comune of Mezzegra, in the province of Como.
The village was an autonomous municipality until 1928, when it merged into Mezzegra becoming its frazione (civil parish).
The village has passed into history because it is the place where Benito Mussolini and his lover Claretta Petacci were executed on April 28, 1945. The execution was carried out by local resistance fighters (partigiani), who had captured the dictator at Dongo (often erroneously considered to be the place where the execution actually took place).
Giulino, part of the Intelvi geographical region, lies on the hills close to the north-western shore of the Lake Como. It is 2 km from Mezzegra, 30 from Como and 40 from Lugano (in Switzerland).
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (Italian pronunciation: [beˈniːto musːoˈliːni]; 29 July 1883 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party, ruling the country from 1922 to his ousting in 1943, and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of fascism.
Originally a member of the Italian Socialist Party and editor of the Avanti! from 1912 to 1914, Mussolini fought in World War I as an ardent nationalist and created the Fasci di Combattimento in 1919, catalyzing his nationalist and socialist beliefs in the Fascist Manifesto, published in 1921. Following the March on Rome in October 1922 he became the 27th Prime Minister of Italy and began using the title Il Duce by 1925, about which time he had established dictatorial authority by both legal and extraordinary means, aspiring to create a totalitarian state. After 1936, his official title was Sua Eccellenza Benito Mussolini, Capo del Governo, Duce del Fascismo e Fondatore dell'Impero ("His Excellency Benito Mussolini, Head of Government, Duce of Fascism, and Founder of the Empire") Mussolini also created and held the supreme military rank of First Marshal of the Empire along with King Victor Emmanuel III, which gave him and the King joint supreme control over the military of Italy. Mussolini remained in power until he was replaced in 1943; for a short period after this until his death, he was the leader of the Italian Social Republic.