Tullio Cianetti

Tullio Cianetti (20 August 1899, in Assisi – 8 April 1976, in Maputo, Mozambique) was an Italian fascist politician who was well known for his work with the trade unions.

The son of a farmer, Cianetti was conscripted in 1917 and served as a lieutenant in the Italian Army until 1921. Returning to Assisi, he worked as a teacher, whilst also helping to found the fascio in the town, becoming secretary in 1922. Such was the regard with which he was held by the leaders of the German Labour Front that the main Volkswagen factory even had a leisure complex called Cianetti Hall in his honour.

Cianetti's rise continued when he was promoted to general and appointed to the Fascist Grand Council in November 1934, and in 1939 was made undersecretary of corporations. Cianetti wrote to Il Duce to apologise immediately afterwards. The letter of apology he had written to Mussolini saved him from execution. Following the liberation, he was released and went into exile in Portuguese Mozambique.