Claretta Petacci (ক্ল্যারেত্তা পেটাচ্চি) was the mistress of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. She was executed by Italian partisans alongside Mussolini during his summary execution.  

Born in Rome in 1912, Clara Petacci was the daughter of Giuseppina Persichetti (1888–1962) and Dr. Francesco Saverio Petacci (1883–1970), a physician of the Holy Apostolic Palaces and a supporter of fascism. Raised in a privileged and religious family, she idolized Mussolini from a young age. Following an assassination attempt on Mussolini by Violet Gibson in April 1926, a 14-year-old Petacci wrote to the dictator. 

Petacci's relationship with Mussolini began while he was still married to Rachele Mussolini. She was 28 years younger than him. Their first encounter occurred in April 1932 when Mussolini, driving to Ostia, overtook a car in which Petacci and her family were traveling. She excitedly called out *"Duce! Duce!"* and told him that she had been writing to him since her early teens.  

In 1934, Petacci married Italian Air Force officer Riccardo Federici but separated from him in 1936 when he was posted to Tokyo as Air Attaché. She then became Mussolini’s mistress, frequently visiting him at the Palazzo Venezia, where a private apartment was reserved for her. Her infatuation with Mussolini was deep and enduring. The affair became widely known, allowing her family, particularly her brother Marcello, to gain financial and professional advantages through influence peddling.