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 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 Airmobile Brigade "Friuli" is an airmobile brigade of the Italian Army, based mainly in the Emilia-Romagna region. The brigade was part of the 1st Defence Forces Command until it was transferred to the Division "Friuli". The brigade's coat of arms depicts a stylized version of the Rocca di Monfalcone castle near the city of Monfalcone in the Friuli region, where the brigade distinguished itself during World War I. Since 1 July 2019 the brigade is part of the Division "Vittorio Veneto".
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 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 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 a 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 3rd Missiles Brigade "Aquileia" was an artillery brigade of the Italian Army active between 1959 and 1991. The brigade was stationed in North-Eastern Italy and armed with missile and artillery systems capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons as part of Italy's participation in NATOs nuclear sharing programme. During peacetime the brigade fell under command of the Italian V Army Corps, but during wartime the brigade would have been subordinate to NATOs Allied Land Forces Southern Europe (LANDSOUTH) command in Verona. After the end of the Cold War the brigade was disbanded and its weapon systems retired.
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 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.
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 Mechanized Brigade "Isonzo" was a short-lived brigade of the Italian Army created during the 1975 army reform and renamed Mechanized Brigade "Mantova" during the 1986 army reform. The name of the brigade was chosen to commemorate the twelve Battles of the Isonzo during World War I.
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 33rd EW Regiment is an electronic warfare unit of the Italian Army based in Treviso. Originally a unit of the army's signal arm, the regiment is today a multi-arms unit assigned to the Tactical Intelligence Brigade, which combines elements of the artillery and signal arms. The unit was formed in 1975 as a battalion, which was tasked with tactical electronic warfare operations in northeastern Italy. The battalion was named for Falzarego Pass and assigned to the V Territorial Military Command. In 1979 the battalion was transferred to the 5th Army Corps. In 1998 the 8th Signals Intelligence Battalion "Tonale" and 9th Electronic Warfare Battalion "Rombo" were disbanded and part of the two battalions tasks and personnel were transferred to the 33rd Electronic Warfare Battalion "Falzarego". In 2002 the battalion lost its autonomy and entered the newly formed 33rd EW Regiment. The regimental anniversary falls, as for all signal units, on June 20, the height of the Second Battle of the Piave River in 1918.
The 13th HUMINT Regiment is the Italian Army's only Human Intelligence unit. Formed on 1 August 1960 as Target Acquisition Battalion for the III Missiles Brigade. In 1993 the battalion was disbanded. In 2005 the unit was reformed as a human intelligence battalion assigned to the army's RISTA-EW Brigade. Originally the unit was part of the army's artillery arm, but since becoming a human intelligence unit it has been designated as a "multi-arms unit". In 2018 the battalion was expanded to regiment and since then it is assigned to the Tactical Intelligence Brigade, which combines elements of the artillery and signal arms. The regiment is based in Anzio in Lazio. The regimental anniversary falls, as for all Italian Army artillery regiments, on June 15, the beginning of the Second Battle of the Piave River in 1918.
The 8th Signals Intelligence Battalion "Tonale" is an inactive signals intelligence (SIGINT) battalion of the Italian Army. The battalion was formed in 1976 and named for the Tonale Pass. The battalion was the army's strategic signals intelligence unit during the Cold War. The battalion was disbanded in 1998 and its tasks and personnel were transferred to the army's 33rd Electronic Warfare Battalion "Falzarego" and the Italian Armed Forces' Information and Security Department. In 2001 the battalion was reformed as the second signal battalion of the deployable 11th Signal Regiment. The regimental anniversary falls, as for all signal units, on June 20, the height of the Second Battle of the Piave River in 1918.
The 7th CIMIC Regiment is a military engineer regiment of the Italian Army based in Motta di Livenza in Veneto. The regiment is a multinational civil-military co-operation (CIMIC) unit and assigned to the Tactical Intelligence Brigade. 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 renamed 104th Engineer Battalion "Torre" 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 regimental anniversary falls, as for all engineer units, on June 24, the end of the Second Battle of the Piave River in 1918. On 25 January 2024 the flag and traditions of the 7th Engineer Regiment, which includes the traditions of the CIV Mixed Engineer Battalion, Engineer Battalion "Mantova", and 104th Engineer Battalion "Torre", were assigned to the Multinational CIMIC Group, which, upon receiving the flag of the 7th Engineer Regiment, was renamed 7th CIMIC Regiment.
The 9th Cybernetic Security Regiment "Rombo" is a cyber warfare unit of the Italian Army based in Cecchignola in Rome. The regiment is assigned to the Tactical Intelligence Brigade and tasked with performing cyber operations related to the defence of the army's IT networks and Command-and-Control systems, the protection of critical infrastructures and platforms and weapon systems.
