Unseen papers of Mussolini's last meeting go to auction
A series of papers containing minutes of Benito Mussolini's last meeting as leader of the Social Republic are set to go under the hammer in Italy.
The papers reveal the intimate details of the final meeting between 'Il Duce' and the Grand Council of Fascism, that was held held on July 23rd 1943, Corriere reported.
The minutes were taken by fascist politician Luigi Federzoni ,who was Interior Minister under the dictator. According to auctioneer Fabio Bertolo, the papers could shed new light on how he was toppled from power.
“They have never been studied,” Bertolo explained. “In 1943, Ferderzoni gave the papers to a journalist who was a close friend and the man's family has only now decided to sell the documents.”
At the fateful meeting in 1943, fascist leaders voted 19-8 in favour of ousting Mussolini from power. The decision was motivated by the turning tide of the Second World War: North Africa had fallen and allied forces had begun their advance into Sicily.
The day after the meeting, Mussolini was arrested in Villa Ada, Rome, and spent the rest of the war in prison before he was eventually executed in 1945 .
The papers will go on sale on July 8th at Palazzo Odescalchi in Rome and are expected to make in excess of €25,000.
The unpublished papers have stirred great interest among contemporary historians, who are hoping that whoever buys them chooses to make them public for the very first time.
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The papers reveal the intimate details of the final meeting between 'Il Duce' and the Grand Council of Fascism, that was held held on July 23rd 1943, Corriere reported.
The minutes were taken by fascist politician Luigi Federzoni ,who was Interior Minister under the dictator. According to auctioneer Fabio Bertolo, the papers could shed new light on how he was toppled from power.
“They have never been studied,” Bertolo explained. “In 1943, Ferderzoni gave the papers to a journalist who was a close friend and the man's family has only now decided to sell the documents.”
At the fateful meeting in 1943, fascist leaders voted 19-8 in favour of ousting Mussolini from power. The decision was motivated by the turning tide of the Second World War: North Africa had fallen and allied forces had begun their advance into Sicily.
The day after the meeting, Mussolini was arrested in Villa Ada, Rome, and spent the rest of the war in prison before he was eventually executed in 1945 .
The papers will go on sale on July 8th at Palazzo Odescalchi in Rome and are expected to make in excess of €25,000.
The unpublished papers have stirred great interest among contemporary historians, who are hoping that whoever buys them chooses to make them public for the very first time.
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