Mussolini was actually very cultured.
He was an Italian, after all. ;-) It's only after we got to America that we became better known for our shooting skills and willingness to defy authority, which often meant Irish cops, than for our cultural heritage.
Part of the evil genius of fascism is its ability to appeal to the cultural icons of nationalism. Fascism in Spain, France, Hungary, and Latin America had differences in externals because different nations had different cultural traditions, but in each of those countries fascism shared the same essential characteristics of authoritarianism centered on a single leader, a strong military, and a heavy state role in the economy.
Freedom works. Fascism doesn't. But sometimes, as with Franco's Spain and several different Latin American regimes, it takes a while for people to figure that out.