Clara Petacci, known as Claretta Petacci (Italian pronunciation: [kla?retta pe?tatt?i]; 28 February 1912 – 28 April 1945) was the mistress of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who was twenty-eight years her senior.On 27 April 1945, Mussolini and Petacci were captured by Communist partisans while traveling with a convoy of Italian Social Republic members. On 28 April, she and Mussolini were taken to Mezzegra and shot. On the following day, 29 April, Mussolini's and Petacci's bodies were taken to the Piazzale Loreto in Milan and hung upside down in front of a petrol station. The bodies were photographed as a crowd vented their rage upon them.