Armed with a Modèle 1892 revolver concealed beneath her shawl, and a rock in case she needed to break the dictator’s car window, she positioned herself in the crowd as Mussolini emerged from addressing the International Congress of Surgeons.

She fired at point-blank range, but at that precise moment, Mussolini turned his head, and the bullet merely grazed his nose. She fired again, but the gun misfired. Before she could try a third time, the crowd descended upon her in fury.