29 AUGUST 1998, Page 23

Italian ice

Sir: In his letter of 22 August, Gordon Richdale complains of the coldness shown towards him by Vittorio and Bruno Mus- solini when he met them at Christmas 1936. Surely it was simple prudence on their part not to show excessive cordiality towards the representative of a nation that had led the imposition of economic sanctions on Italy one year earlier as a result of the Abyssini- an war. As for the Duce's speeches, they were taught at Swiss colleges throughout the Thirties and until 1945 as Ciceronian models of oratory and construction!

Fred Cygax

Porza, Switzerland