The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro Ferrero La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Army, which later became the Royal Italian Army. They can be recognized by their distinctive wide-brimmed hats decorated with black western capercaillie feathers, which is worn with the dress uniform. The feathers are also applied to their combat helmets.
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 Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna" is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Italian Army, based in Rome and central Italy. The brigade fields one of the oldest regiments of the Army and is one of the guard regiments of the President of Italy. The name of the unit dates back to the Kingdom of Sardinia and not the eponymous Mediterranean island of Sardinia. The brigade is part of the Division "Acqui".
The Mechanized Brigade "Aosta" is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Italian Army based on the island of Sicily. The Brigade is one of the oldest of the Italian Army and the name connects the brigade to its original area of recruitment the Aosta Valley and therefore the brigade's coat of arms is modeled after the coat of arms of Aosta. The brigade is part of the Division "Acqui".
After World War II the Italian Army had two units named "Centauro": from 1952 to 1986 the Armored Division "Centauro" and from 1986 to 2002 the Armored Brigade "Centauro". Both units were successor to the World War II era 131st Armored Division "Centauro". The units' name came from the mythological race of half human-half horse creatures named Centaurs.
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 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete" is currently the only active armored brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units are tank and Bersaglieri regiments. The brigade's headquarters is in the city of Pordenone and most of its units are based in the North-East of Italy. The brigade's name comes from the battering ram. The brigade draws much of its historical traditions from the 132nd Armored Division "Ariete", which fought in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. In 1948 the Ariete was reconstituted as division and remained active until 1986. Today the brigade is part of the Division "Vittorio Veneto".
The Mechanized Brigade "Gorizia" was a mechanized brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were mechanized infantry battalions. The brigade's headquarters was in the city of Gorizia and the brigade's units were based in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. The brigade's name was chosen in memory of the World War I Battle of Gorizia. The brigade's sister brigade, the Armored Brigade "Vittorio Veneto", was named to commemorate the World War I Battle of Vittorio Veneto.
The Mechanized Brigade "Brescia" was a mechanized brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were mechanized infantry battalions. The brigade was founded in, named after, and headquartered in the city of Brescia and accordingly the brigade's coat of arms was modeled after the city's coat of arms.
The Mechanized Brigade "Mantova" was a mechanized brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were mechanized infantry battalions. The brigade's headquarters was in the city of Cividale del Friuli and all the brigade's units were based in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. In 2003, the "Mantova" was raised again as a division command.
The Mechanized Brigade "Legnano" was a mechanized brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were mechanized infantry battalions. The brigade's headquarters was in the city of Bergamo in Lombardy. The name of the brigade commemorates the Lombard League victory in the Battle of Legnano in 1176 and its coat of arms depicts the Monument to the Warrior of Legnano in the centre of Legnano.
The Motorized Brigade "Cremona" was an infantry brigade of the Italian Army. The brigade's headquarters was in the city of Turin. The brigade carried on the name and traditions of the 44th Infantry Division "Cremona".
The Mechanized Brigade "Trieste" was a mechanized brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were mechanized infantry battalions. The brigade's headquarter was in the city of Bologna. Named after the North-Eastern city of Trieste the brigade's coat of arms was modeled after the city's coat of arms.
The Mechanized Division "Folgore" was a mechanized division of the Italian Army. Its core units were three mechanized brigades. The brigades headquarters was in the city of Treviso.
With the 1975 reforms the Italian Army abolished the regimental level and replaced it with brigades made up of multiple arms. During the reform the army disbanded 48 regimental commands and reduced its force by 87 battalions. A further ten regimental commands were used to raise ten new brigade commands. Ten training centers, which for traditional reasons had carried the names of regiments, were also disbanded. The reduction in units also allowed to mechanize most of the remaining units in Northern Italy and Italy's defense strategy changed from a hold-at-all-costs territorial defense to one of mobile warfare.
The 63rd Tank Regiment is an inactive tank regiment of the Italian Army based in Cordenons in Friuli Venezia Giulia. The regiment, like other Italian tank regiments, was originally part of the infantry, but on June 1, 1999, it was transferred to the cavalry. Operationally the regiment was last assigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Mantova".
The Logistic Battalion "Mantova" is an inactive logistics unit of the Italian Army, which was assigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Mantova".
The 107th Signal Battalion "Predil" is an inactive signals unit of the Italian Army. The battalion was formed in 1946 and assigned to the Infantry Division "Mantova". In 1975 the battalion was named for the Predil Pass and received the number 107th, which had been used by the 107th Teleradio Company that served with the Combat Group "Mantova" during the Italian campaign of World War II. With the name and number the battalion also received its own flag. In 1991 the battalion was disbanded and in 2002 reformed as the second signal battalion of the deployable 7th Signal Regiment.
The 104th Engineer Battalion "Torre" is an inactive military engineer unit of the Italian Army last based in Udine in Friuli. In 1944 the Italian Co-Belligerent Army formed the CIV Mixed Engineer Battalion for the Combat Group "Mantova", which fought on the allied side in the Italian campaign of World War II. In 1946 the battalion split to form the Engineer Battalion "Mantova" and the Connections Battalion "Mantova", which were both assigned to the Infantry Division "Mantova". In 1975 the battalion was named for the Torre river and assigned the flag and traditions of the 7th Engineer Regiment, which had been active between 1926 and 1943. In 1986 the Mechanized Division "Mantova" was disbanded and shortly thereafter so was the battalion.
The 114th Infantry Regiment "Mantova" is an inactive unit of the Italian Army last based in Tricesimo. The regiment is named for the city of Mantova and part of the Italian Army's infantry arm.
