The Italian Army is the land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China, Libya, Northern Italy against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I, Abyssinia before World War II and in World War II in Albania, Balkans, North Africa, the Soviet Union, and Italy itself. During the Cold War, the army prepared itself to defend against a Warsaw Pact invasion from the east. Since the end of the Cold War, the army has seen extensive peacekeeping service and combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank and among its aircraft the Mangusta attack helicopter, recently deployed in UN missions. The headquarters of the Army General Staff are located in Rome opposite the Quirinal Palace, where the president of Italy resides. The army is an all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel.
Pozzuolo del Friuli is a comune (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) northwest of Trieste and about 10 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of Udine.
The article provides an overview of the entire chain of command and organization of the Italian Army after the reform of 1 May 2024 and includes all active units as of 1 May 2024. The Armed Forces of Italy are under the command of the Italian Supreme Defense Council, presided over by the President of the Italian Republic. The Italian Army is commanded by the Chief of the Army General Staff or "Capo di Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito" in Rome.
The Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" is a brigade of the Italian Army, based in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto regions. The Brigade consists of a command unit, a cavalry regiment, an amphibious infantry regiment, an artillery regiment, an engineer regiment and a logistic regiment.
The 2nd Cavalry Division "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro" was a cavalry or "Celere" (Fast) division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The division was mobilised in 1940. It did not take part in the Italian invasion of France, but did serve in the Invasion of Yugoslavia and remained in Yugoslavia as part of the occupying forces. In March 1942 the division's 6th Bersaglieri Regiment was sent to the Soviet Union attached to the 3rd Cavalry Division "Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta". In May 1942 the division started converting to an armored division, however, the conversion was cancelled and it returned to the cavalry format. In December 1942, the division moved to France as part of the Italian occupying forces where it was based in Toulon. The division remained in France until the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943 and was then disbanded by the invading Germans.
Paolo Gerometta is a former senior Italian army officer.
The Armored Brigade "Vittorio Veneto" was an armored brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were armored and mechanized cavalry squadrons groups. The brigade's headquarters was in the city of Villa Opicina, with most of its units based in the Province of Trieste. The brigade's name was chosen to remember the decisive Italian World War I victory at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto.
The V Army Corps was one of three corps the Italian Army fielded during the Cold War. Based in the regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia-Giulia the corps was the army's main combat force. The 5th Army Corps was arrayed close to the Yugoslavian border and tasked with meeting any Warsaw Pact forces that crossed the border. On the left flank of the corps the 4th Alpine Army Corps was tasked with blocking the Alpine passes and in the rear of the corps the 3rd Army Corps served as operational reserve. After the end of the Cold War the corps was reduced in size and on 1 October 1997 it became the 1st Defence Forces Command. In 2013 the COMFOD 1° was disbanded and its function and brigades taken over by the 20th Infantry Division Friuli in Florence.
The following is a hierarchical outline for the Italian Army at the end of the Cold War. It is intended to convey the connections and relationships between units and formations.
The Regiment "Piemonte Cavalleria" (2nd) is a cavalry regiment of the Italian Army based in Villa Opicina in Friuli-Venezia Giulia.The regiment is the reconnaissance unit of the Alpine Brigade "Julia".
The Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" (3rd) is a cavalry unit of the Italian Army based in Grosseto in Tuscany. The regiment is the reconnaissance unit of the Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore". The regiment is named for the Duchy of Savoy in France, which makes the regiment, along with the Regiment "Nizza Cavalleria" (1st), one of two Italian Army units named for a French region, which once was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
The Regiment "Genova Cavalleria" (4th) is a cavalry unit of the Italian Army based in Palmanova in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The regiment is the highest decorated and oldest cavalry regiment of the Italian Army and the only army unit, whose anniversary commemorates a pre-Risorgimento event. The regiment is the reconnaissance unit of the Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli".
The Regiment "Lancieri di Aosta" (6th) is a cavalry unit of the Italian Army based in Palermo in Sicily. The regiment is the reconnaissance unit of the Mechanized Brigade "Aosta". The regiment was formed in 1774 as present to the King of Sardinia's fifteen-year-old son Victor Emmanuel, Duke of Aosta. The regiment fought in the War of the First Coalition against French forces, until 1796 when Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Royal Sardinian Army in the Montenotte campaign. In October of the same year the regiment was disbanded.
The Regiment "Lancieri di Novara" (5th) is a cavalry unit of the Italian Army based in Codroipo in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The regiment is the reconnaissance unit of the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete".
The Regiment "Lancieri di Milano" (7th) is an inactive cavalry unit of the Italian Army. The regiment was formed after the Second Italian War of Independence and participated in the Third Italian War of Independence. In World War I the regiment fought dismounted on the Italian front. After the war the regiment was disbanded. Shortly before World War II the regiment was reformed. The regiment participated in the Italian invasion of Greece and remained afterwards on anti-partisan duty in Albania, Croatia and occupied Greece. The regiment dissolved in Larissa in Greece after the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile. During the Cold War the unit served as the reconnaissance group of the Infantry Division "Legnano" and after 1975 of the Mechanized Division "Mantova". In 1986 the group became the reconnaissance group of the Armored Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli". At the end of the Cold War the unit was disbanded in 1989.
The Regiment "Lancieri di Firenze" (9th) is an inactive cavalry unit of the Tuscan Army, French Army, Sardinian Army, and Italian Army. Formed in Tuscany in 1753 the regiment served in the Napoleonic Wars, during which its troops reached Madrid and Moscow. In 1848—49 the regiment fought in the First Italian War of Independence. During the Second Italian War of Independence the regiment switched allegiance from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany to the Kingdom of Sardinia and thus became the only regiment from a pre-unification state to be integrated into the Royal Sardinian Army. The regiment participated in the Third Italian War of Independence and during World War I it fought dismounted in the trenches of the Italian front. In World War II the regiment was assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Division "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro" and served in annexed Albania, occupied Greece, and occupied Yugoslavia on anti-partisan duty. The regiment was disbanded after the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile by invading German forces. During the Cold War the unit was assigned to the Armored Brigade "Vittorio Veneto" as a tank unit. After the Cold War the regiment was disbanded in 1995.
The Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Treviso" (28th) is an active cavalry unit of the Italian Army. The regiment was formed by the Royal Italian Army in 1909 and active during World War I on the Italian Front. Even though the regiment had earned a Silver Medal of Military Valor in the Battle of Monfalcone in 1916 it was disbanded after the war. The regiment was active again during the Cold War between 1975 and 1991. The unit's name, flag and traditions were assigned on 1 October 2022 to the Command and Tactical Supports Unit "Pozzuolo del Friuli" of the Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli".
Italian Army gorget patches are worn by all army personnel on the collars of the shirts and jackets of their service uniforms and formal uniforms. The gorget patches identify the arm, corps, or speciality within an arm or corps a soldier belongs to. Generals wear golden stars instead of a gorget patches, while army recruits wear silver stars until they are assigned to a unit after basic training. Originally made from colored cloth, respectively embroidered cloth for Granatieri, Carabinieri and general staff members, gorget patches have been made since 1973 from enamelled metal.
The Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Alessandria" (14th) is an inactive cavalry unit of the Italian Army. The regiment was formed after the First Italian War of Independence. The regiment participated in the Second Italian War of Independence, Crimean War, and Third Italian War of Independence. In World War I the regiment fought dismounted on the Italian Front. During World War II the regiment was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division "Eugenio di Savoia", which was deployed to occupied Yugoslavia on anti-partisan duty. The division and its units were disbanded after the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile by invading German forces. The unit was last active from 1964 to 1979 as reconnaissance squadron of the Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna".
The 26th Infantry Regiment "Bergamo" is an inactive unit of the Italian Army last based in Diano Castello in Liguria. The regiment is named for the city of Bergamo and part of the Italian Army's infantry arm. The regiment was formed in 1859 by the Royal Sardinian Army and one year later participated in the Sardinian campaign in central and southern Italy. In 1866, the regiment fought in the Third Italian War of Independence and in 1911–12 in the Italo-Turkish War. During World War I the regiment fought on the Italian front.
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