But that mangled body, a true icon of the entire regime, also embodies the horror of the civil war, as well as a story that is difficult to present as a founding myth of the new Italy: stolen by neo-fascists in 1946, it was hidden by the DC for eleven years, until it was finally buried in Predappio in 1957.
More than half a century has passed since Benito Mussolini's death. Even today, thousands of his supporters make pilgrimages to his tomb in Predappio.
Why? How come, even in death, the Duce's body continues to attract so many followers?
According to Sergio Luzzatto, author of the book The body of the duce (Einaudi edition) which inspired this film, “Italy has a specific corporal that has to do with the dominant religion.
The problem of charisma, of chrism, of Christ, of the anointed. What is special about a man? And who gave him that something we struggle to define, but which is perceived as special?
The Duce physically identified with power and the people physically identified with the Duce.
But Mussolini didn't just embody power: he acted it.
His appeal, however, is not solely due to his talent as an actor; countless testimonies point to the influence the Duce exerted on those privileged not only to see him, but to meet him.
The recurring images of the Duce disseminated by the regime, his smooth, shaved head, the helmet worn on his head like armor, are a set of signals that also pertain to the sphere of sexuality.
A sexuality founded equally on the desire for domination and a masculinity incessantly evoked by regime propaganda.
After the end of Fascism, the vicissitudes of the Duce's body dragged on for years, giving rise to a cult fueled by the mystery of where he was buried and the ban on commemorating his death.
Immediately after Piazzale Loreto, at the request of the authorities, Mussolini's body was secretly buried in an unmarked grave in Milan's main cemetery.
A year later, on the night of April 23, 46, he was stolen by a neo-fascist group who demanded a more dignified burial.
The body is recovered by the police, but instead of being buried, it disappears again. This time for reasons of state.
The last existing images of the Duce's body are those taken at the Milan police headquarters on 14 August 46.
The corpse is enclosed in a soapbox and folded over on itself.
Mussolini is reduced to an unrecognizable mummy.
This same coffin was hidden for twelve years in a location known only to a handful of high-ranking officials. The mystery of Mussolini's body added to the mystery surrounding the unclear circumstances of his death.
A story that has aroused a curiosity in the imagination of Italians that half a century of stories have not been enough to satisfy.
This is the story of a body that, even in death, remains a cumbersome figure, because too many Italians adored him in life.
