Italy competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. 224 competitors, 197 men and 27 women, took part in 123 events in 19 sports.
Italy competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 210 competitors, 183 men and 27 women, took part in 122 events in 20 sports.
Italy competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States; 268 competitors, 222 men and 46 women, took part in 151 events in 23 sports.
Edoardo Mangiarotti was an Italian fencer. He won a total of 39 Olympic titles and World championships, more than any other fencer in the history of the sport. His Olympic medals include one individual gold, five team golds, five silver, and two bronze medals from 1936 to 1960.
Italy competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. 168 competitors, 157 men and 11 women, took part in 91 events in 18 sports.
Italy competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. 167 competitors, 152 men and 15 women, took part in 103 events in 17 sports.
Italy competed at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States. 112 competitors, all men, took part in 61 events in 13 sports.
Italy competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. 244 competitors, 228 men and 16 women, took part in 99 events in 17 sports.
Italy competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England. 215 competitors, 195 men and 20 women, took part in 89 events in 16 sports.
Italy competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 231 competitors, 208 men and 23 women, took part in 114 events in 19 sports.
Italy was the host nation for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. It was the first time that the nation had hosted the Summer Games, and the second time overall. It also hosted the 1960 Summer Paralympics in Rome – the inaugural Paralympic Games.
Dario Mangiarotti was an Italian fencer who competed at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics and medaled in seven World Championships. He was born in Milan, the son of Giuseppe Mangiarotti, a fencer at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. He was also the brother of Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italy's most successful Olympian and the winner of more Olympic and World titles than any fencer in history, and Mario Mangiarotti, who was also a fencer.
The men's épée was one of seven fencing events on the fencing at the 1948 Summer Olympics programme. It was the tenth appearance of the event. The competition was held from 7 August 1948 to 9 August 1948. 66 fencers from 25 nations competed. The event was won by Luigi Cantone of Italy, the nation's third consecutive victory in the men's épée. Italy also earned its third consecutive bronze medal in the event, with Edoardo Mangiarotti's third-place finish. Between the two Italians was Oswald Zappelli of Switzerland, taking the silver medal.
The men's épée was one of seven fencing events on the fencing at the 1952 Summer Olympics programme. It was the eleventh appearance of the event. The competition was held from 27 July 1952 to 28 July 1952. 76 fencers from 29 nations competed. Nations were limited to three fencers each. The event was won by Edoardo Mangiarotti of Italy, the nation's fourth consecutive victory in the men's épée. It was also the fourth consecutive year that Italy had at least two fencers on the podium in the event, as Edoardo's brother Dario Mangiarotti took silver. Bronze went to Oswald Zappelli of Switzerland. Zappelli and Edoardo Mangiarotti had faced each other in a barrage for silver and bronze medals in 1948, which Zappelli had won; the two men were the fifth and sixth to earn multiple medals in the event.
The men's foil was one of seven fencing events on the fencing at the 1956 Summer Olympics programme. It was the twelfth appearance of the event. The competition was held on 26 November 1956. 32 fencers from 14 nations competed. Nations had been limited to three fencers each since 1928. The event was won by Christian d'Oriola of France, the second man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the foil and second man to win three medals in the event. It was France's third consecutive and seventh overall victory in the event. As in 1952, the next two spots were taken by Italians, this time Giancarlo Bergamini and Antonio Spallino.
The men's épée was one of seven fencing events on the fencing at the 1956 Summer Olympics programme. It was the twelfth appearance of the event. The competition was held on 30 November 1956. 41 fencers from 18 nations competed. Nations were limited to three fencers each. The event was won by Carlo Pavesi of Italy, the nation's fifth consecutive victory in the men's épée. In all five of those Games, Italy earned at least two medals in the event; this was the second sweep during that period for Italy. Giuseppe Delfino was the silver medalist while Edoardo Mangiarotti took bronze. It was Mangiarotti's third medal in the event, along with gold in 1952 and another bronze in 1948; he was the first man to win three medals in the individual épée.
The men's épée was one of eight fencing events on the fencing at the 1960 Summer Olympics programme. It was the thirteenth appearance of the event. The competition was held from 5 to 6 September 1960. 79 fencers from 32 nations competed. Each nation was limited to three fencers. The event was won by Giuseppe Delfino of Italy, the nation's sixth consecutive victory in the men's épée. Delfino, who had taken silver in 1956, was the seventh man to win multiple medals in the event. Silver went to Allan Jay of Great Britain and bronze to Bruno Habārovs of the Soviet Union, the first-ever medal in the event for both nations. It was the first time during Italy's gold-medal streak that the nation did not have a second medalist as well.
Italy competed at the 1951 Mediterranean Games in Alexandria, Egypt.
Marcello Lodetti graduated in 1959 from the Accademia Nazionale Magistrale (ANS) and started fencing at the age of 7 at the Mangiarotti fencing club in Milano, near the Giuseppe Verdi conservatory. He then became a pupil of Giuseppe Mangiarotti, who had himself been a pupil of Renaud.
Events from the year 1956 in Italy
