was told that his mother was dead. In 1931, he was adopted as an orphan at 15 by the fascist ex-police chief of Sopramonte. Initially educated at a Barnabite college in Moncalieri, he enrolled in the Italian Royal Navy and always remained under close surveillance by the fascist government. Nevertheless, he persisted in stating that Benito Mussolini was his father and was eventually forcibly interned in an asylum in Mombello, Province of Milan, where he died on 26 August 1942 after repeated coma-inducing injections, at 26. Ida and Benito were officially described as “a danger to themselves and others” but hospital records show that both were lucid. In film The story of Benito Mussolini's first marriage was suppressed during the fascist rule and remained generally unknown for years afterwards. It was resurrected in 2005 by Italian journalist Marco Zeni and made public in a documentary on RAI state television as well as in two books (L'ultimo filò and La moglie di Mussolini). Vincere, a biopic on Dalser's life that was directed by Marco Bellocchio and starring Giovanna Mezzogiorno, was screened at the 2009 American Film Institute Festival and in competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. References Further reading External links Il segreto di Mussolini, published by RAI 1880 births 1937 deaths People from Trento Mussolini family