Mussolini was born in the central Italian town of Predappio, in the then-province of Forlì (from 1992 called province of Forlì-Cesena). His father, Alessandro, was a blacksmith and his mother, Rosa Maltoni, was a school teacher. Alessandro Mussolini was an enthusiast socialist of the anarchic wing and an atheist. He bestowed the first name "Benito" upon his son after Mexican president [[Benito Juarez]] and the middle name "Andrea" after the founder of the short-lived Italian "Revolutionary Socialist Party of Romagna", Andrea Conti. Benito's mother, however, was a religious Catholic woman and had the child baptized. | Mussolini was born in the central Italian town of Predappio, in the then-province of Forlì (from 1992 called province of Forlì-Cesena). His father, Alessandro, was a blacksmith and his mother, Rosa Maltoni, was a school teacher. Alessandro Mussolini was an enthusiast socialist of the anarchic wing and an atheist. He bestowed the first name "Benito" upon his son after Mexican president [[Benito Juarez]] and the middle name "Andrea" after the founder of the short-lived Italian "Revolutionary Socialist Party of Romagna", Andrea Conti. Benito's mother, however, was a religious Catholic woman and had the child baptized. |