ABSTRACT
isaw Benito Mussolini dozens, possibly hundreds, of times. He saw me only once, one afternoon in the castle at Tripoli. I was presented to him by the Minister of the Press and Propaganda with the words: ". . . and this is Luigi Barzini." The dictator looked hard at me, then pursed his lips, raised his chin, and for a few seconds said nothing. He seemed to be considering that fragment of information, and the pause was embarrassing. At that time there was always something gauche about being presented without shaking hands (which was something strictly forbidden by the Party) ; for a handshake is rather more than a mere greeting, it is a kind of symbolic gesture like the handshake country traders give at fairs to seal an agreement. One never knew what to do.
