II.

Early Life

Mussolini was born on July 29, 1883, in Predappio, a small town in north-central Italy, near the city of Forlì. He was the first son of a striving lower-class couple. His father was a blacksmith and his mother was a schoolteacher. Like many other families of this time and region, Mussolini’s family held socialist convictions and was opposed to the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. The couple named their first son after Mexican revolutionary hero Benito Juárez, and his younger brother after medieval Catholic heretic Arnold of Brescia. As a youth, Mussolini was known for his quick temper and arrogance. Educated in local schools, he earned a diploma in 1901 that qualified him to teach at a primary school. Employment prospects in the area were low, however, and in 1902 he moved to Switzerland.