Rosa Maltoni was the mother of Italian Fascist founder and leader Benito Mussolini, the mother-in-law of Rachele Mussolini and the paternal grandmother of Bruno Mussolini, Edda Mussolini, Romano Mussolini, and Vittorio Mussolini. Maltoni was a nominal Catholic schoolteacher who married the Communist Alessandro Mussolini against the wishes of her father. After Benito, Rosa had three more children, Arnaldo, Laura, and Edvige. She died of meningitis in 1905 when her son, Benito Mussolini, was only 22.
Mussolini was reportedly very attached to his mother, and during the Fascist period, Rosa came to represent the ideal Italian woman. On June 17, 1930, a ceremony was held to honor her as a "great educator and glorious mother."