ATTEMPT ON LIFE OF MUSSOLINI FOILED
Rome, Italy (JFK+50) On November 4, 1925, an assassination plot against Prime Minister Benito Mussolini was foiled as Tito Zaniboni* was arrested before the assassination could be carried out.
Zaniboni, former Socialist deputy, was positioned in a hotel with a view of Palazzo Chigi** where the prime minister was about to deliver a balcony speech.
Some historians believe that the plot was part of a plan by the Mussolini administration to consolidate power leading to passage of laws later that year suppressing political opposition.
JFK+50 NOTE
This was the first of four failed attempts on Mussolini's life between Nov 4, 1925 and Oct 31, 1926.
*Tito Zaniboni, a member of the Italian parliament, received a 30 year prison term for attempting to kill Mussolini, but he was released in 1943.
**Pilazzo Chigi is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Italy. Construction began in 1578 & has been the seat of government since 1961.
SOURCES
"Assassination attempts on Benito Mussolini," www.wikipedia.org/
"Mussolini's Four Would-be Assassins: Emergency Politics and the Consolidation of Fascist Power," by Benedetta Luciana Carnaghi, September 8, 2021, Journal of Modern Italian Studies (2022), www.tandfonline.com/
