Italian Navy

For other uses, see Italian Navy (disambiguation).

Italian Navy
Marina Militare
Active	1946–present (1861 as Regia Marina)
Country	Italy
Type	Navy
Role	Naval warfare
Size	30,923 personnel 184 vessels (incl. minor auxiliaries) 70 aircraft
Motto(s)	Template:Lang-it "Country and Honour"
March	La Ritirata ("Ritirata" in Italian means the return of soldiers to their barrack, or in this case of sailors to their ship after a leave) by Tommaso Mario
Anniversaries	June 10 – Sinking of the Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Szent István by Luigi Rizzo
Decorations	1 Cavalier Cross of the Military Order of Savoy 3 Cavalier's Crosses of the Military Order of Italy 2 Gold Medals of Military Valor 1 Silver Medal of Military Valor 1 Gold Medal for Merited Public Honor
Commanders
capo di stato maggiore della marina (Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy)	ammiraglio di squadra Valter Girardelli
sottocapo di stato maggiore della marina Deputy Chief of Naval Staff	ammiraglio di squadra Claudio Gaudiosi
Insignia
Naval Aviation roundels
Naval Ensign
Jack

The Italian Navy (Template:Lang-it, lit. "Military Navy"; abbreviated as MM) is the Navy of the Italian Republic. It is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the Regia Marina (Royal Navy) after World War II. As of August 2014, the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active personnel with approximately 184 vessels in service, including minor auxiliary vessels. It is considered a multiregional and a blue-water navy.

History

Before and during World War II

Main article: Regia Marina

The Regia Marina was formed on March 17, 1861, after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. The Italian Navy assumed its present name after the Italian monarchy was abolished following a popular referendum held on June 2, 1946.

After World War II

At the end of its five years involvement in World War II, Italy was a devastated nation. After the end of hostilities the Regia Marina, which at the beginning of the war was the fourth largest navy in the world with a mix of modernised and new battleships, started a long and complex rebuilding process. The important combat contributions of the Italian naval forces after the signing of the armistice with the Allies on September 8, 1943, and the subsequent cooperation agreement on September 23, 1943, left the Regia Marina in a poor condition, with much of its infrastructure and bases unusable and its ports mined and blocked by sunken ships. However, a large number of its naval units had survived the war, albeit in a low efficiency state, which was due to the conflict and the age of many vessels. The vessels that remained were:

• 5 battleships
• 10 cruisers
• 10 destroyers
• 20 frigates
• 20 corvettes
• 50 fast coastal patrol units
• 50 minesweepers
• 19 amphibious operations vessels
• 5 school ships
• 1 support ship and plane transport

The peace treaty

The peace treaty signed on February 10, 1947 in Paris was onerous for Regia Marina. Apart from territorial and material losses, also the following restrictions were imposed:

• A ban on owning, building or experimenting with atomic weapons, self-propulsion projectiles or relative launchers, etc.
• A ban on owning Battleships, Aircraft carriers, Submarines and Amphibious Assault units.
• A ban on operating military installations on the islands of Pantelleria, Pianosa and on the archipelago of Pelagie Islands.

La Spezia, 1951: carrier Aquila just before being scrapped

The treaty also ordered Italy to put the following ships at the disposals of the victorious nations United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, Greece, Yugoslavia and Albania as war compensation:

• 3 Battleships: Giulio Cesare, Italia, Vittorio Veneto;
• 5 Cruisers: Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta, Attilio Regolo, Scipione Africano, Eugenio di Savoia and Eritrea;
• 7 Destroyers, 5 of the Template:Sclass2- and Augusto Riboty and Alfredo Oriani;
• 6 Minesweepers: like Aliseo and Fortunale;
• 8 Submarines: 3 of the Acciaio class;
• 1 Sailing School ship: Cristoforo Colombo.

The entry into NATO

Great changes in the international political situation, which were developing into the Cold War, convinced the United Kingdom and United States to discontinue the transfer of Italy's capital ships as war reparations. Some had already been dismantled in La Spezia between 1948 and 1955, including the flagship aircraft carrier Aquila. However, the Soviet Union demanded the surrender of the battleship Giulio Cesare and other naval units designated for transfer. The cruisers Attilio Regolo and Scipione Africano became the French Chateaurenault and Guichen, while Eugenio di Savoia became the Greek Helli. After break up and/or transfers, only a small part of the fleet remained to be recommissioned into the Marina. As Western attention turned to the Soviets and the Mediterranean Sea, Italian seas became one of the main sites of confrontation between the two superpowers, contributing to the re-emergence of Italy's naval importance thanks to her strategic geographical position.

With the new elections in 1946, the Kingdom of Italy became a Republic, and the Regia Marina took the name of Marina Militare (Military Navy). As the Marshall Plan began to rebuild Italy and Europe was rapidly being divided into two geopolitically antagonistic blocs, Italy began talks with the United States to guarantee adequate security considerations. The US government in Washington wished to keep its own installations on the Italian Peninsula and relaxed the Treaty restrictions by including Italy in the Mutual Defense Assistance Programme (MDAP). On April 4, 1949, Italy joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and, in order for the navy to contribute actively in the organization, the Treaty restrictions were definitively repealed by the end of 1951, with the consent of all of Western nations.

The carrier Cavour in the Gulf of Oman, 2013

Within NATO, the Italian Navy was assigned combat control of the Adriatic Sea and Strait of Otranto, as well as the defence of the naval routes through the Tyrrhenian Sea. To ensure these tasks a "Studio sul potenziamento della Marina italiana in relazione al Patto Atlantico" (Study about the development of the Italian Navy with reference to the Atlantic Pact) was undertaken, which researched the structures and the methods for the development of the navy.

Naval ensign

Naval ensign of Italy

The ensign of the Italian Navy is the Italian tricolour defaced with the coat of arms of the Marina Militare. The quarters refer to the four Medieval Italian Thalassocracies, or "Maritime Republics" (Italian: Repubbliche Marinare):

• 1st quarter: on red, a golden winged lion (the Lion of St. Mark) wielding a sword (Republic of Venice);
• 2nd quarter: on white field, red cross (Republic of Genoa);
• 3rd quarter: on blue field, white Maltese cross (Republic of Amalfi);
• 4th quarter: on red field, white Pisan cross (Republic of Pisa).

The shield has a golden crown, that distinguishes military vessels from merchant: the crown, "corona rostrata", was proposed in 1939 by Admiral Domenico Cavagnari to the Government, as an acknowledgement of the Italian Navy's origin in Roman times. In the proposal, Adm. Cavagnari wrote that "in order to recall the common origin [of the Navy] from the Roman sailorship, the Insignia will be surmounted by the towered Crown with rostra, the emblem of honour and valour the Roman Senate awarded to the leaders of naval victories, conquerors of lands and cities across the seas".

A further difference is that St. Mark's lion, symbolising the Republic of Venice, does not hold the gospel in its paw (as it does on the civil ensign, where the book is open at the words "Pax tibi Marce, evangelista meus", meaning "Peace to you Mark, my Evangelist") and is wielding a sword instead: such an image is consistent with the pictorial tradition from Venetian history, in which the book is shown open during peacetime and closed during wartime.

Structure and organisation

Organization

In 2012 the Navy began a restructuring process that will see a 21% decrease in personnel by 2025. A new structure was implemented in January 2014. The command structure is depicted below:

Reporting to the Logistics Command is Maritime Command – divided into four areas who provide logistic support for their areas.

Position	Italian title	Rank	Incumbent
Navy Chief of Staff	Capo di Stato Maggiore della Marina	Ammiraglio di squadra	Valter Girardelli
Navy Deputy Chief of Staff	Sottocapo di Stato Maggiore della Marina	Ammiraglio di squadra	Maurizio Gimignani
Commander in Chief Naval Fleet (CINCNAV)	Comandante in Capo della Squadra Navale	Ammiraglio di squadra	Donato Marzano
Commander in Chief Logistics Command (MARICOMLOG)	Comandante Logistico	Ammiraglio di squadra	Raffaele Caruso
Commander in Chief Schools Command (MARICOMSCUOLE)	Comandante Scuole	Ammiraglio di squadra	Salvatore Ruzittu
Commander Maritime Command North	Comandante del Comando Marittimo Nord	L'ammiraglio di divisione	Giorgio Lazio
Commander Maritime Command South	Comandante del Comando Marittimo Sud	L'ammiraglio di divisione	Eduardo Serra
Commander Maritime Command Sicily	Comandante del Comando Marittimo Sicilia	L'ammiraglio di divisione	Nicola De Felice
Commander Maritime Command Sardinia	Comando Supporto Logistico della Marina a Cagliari	Contrammiraglio	Francesco Sollitto
COMSUBIN	Comandante di Comsubin	Contrammiraglio	Paolo Pezzuti

Coast Guard

The Corps of the Port Captaincies – Coast Guard (Italian language: Corpo delle Capitanerie di porto – Guardia costiera') is the coast guard of Italy and is part of the Italian Navy under the control of the Ministry of Infrastructures and Transports. In Italy, it is commonly known as simply the Guardia costiera. The Coast Guard has approximately 11 000 staff.

Corps

The Italian Navy is divided into seven corps (by precedence) and one:

• Corpo di stato maggiore – Corps of Staff Officers (SM) (line officers)
• Corpo del genio navale – Corps of Naval Engineering (GN)
• Corpo delle armi navali – Corps of the Naval Arms (AN)
• Corpo sanitario militare marittimo – Maritime Military Medical Corps (MD) for medics; (FM) for Pharmacists
• Corpo di commissariato militare marittimo – Corps of Military Maritime Commissariat (CM) (administration)
• Corpo delle capitanerie di porto – Corps of the Port Captaincies (CP) the coast guard
• Corpo degli equipaggi militari marittimi – Corps of the Military Maritime Crews (CEMM)

Fleet

Command of the Italian Fleet (ships, submarines and amphibious forces) and Naval aviation falls under Commander in Chief Naval Fleet

Equipment

Ships and submarines

Main articles: List of active Italian Navy ships and List of decommissioned ships of the Italian Navy

Today's Italian Navy is a modern navy with ships of every type. The fleet is in continuous evolution, and as of today oceangoing fleet units include: 2 light aircraft carriers, 3 amphibious assault ships, 4 destroyers, 12 frigates and 8 attack submarines. Patrol and littoral warfare units include: 10 offshore patrol vessels and 1 corvettes. Ten mine countermeasure vessels, four coastal patrol boats, and a varied fleet of auxiliary ships are also in service.

The flagship of the fleet is the carrier Cavour.

Aircraft

Main article: List of active Italian military aircraft § Navy

See also: Italian Navy Aviation

The Italian Navy operates a diverse fleet of aircraft including fixed-wing, rotary and UAVs.

• 
  AV-8B Harrier II
• 
  EH-101-410 Merlin
• 
  SH-90A
• 
  Camcopter S-100

Future

• 3 x more General Purpose FREMM frigates on sea trials or being built to replace the Maestrale class & Soldati class between 2019 and 2021;

The 2014 Naval Act allocated Euro 5.4 billion for the following vessels:

• 1 x LHA Trieste (for commissioning in 2022: 32,000 t, 244 m, 12 helos AW101, 4 LCU, 620 San Marco marines); to replace CVL Giuseppe Garibaldi (551)
• 1 x LSS Vulcano class, (for commissioning in 2019: 26,000 t, 192 m, 2 helos AW101); first one on built to replace AOR Stromboli (A5327)
• 7 x PPA, Pattugliatore Polivalente d'Altura – Offshore Multipurpose Patrol Ship (with three more on option: for commissioning between 2021/2026: 5,800/6,280 t, 143 m, 1 x Oto Melara 127/64 mm Vulcano, 1 x Oto Melara 76/62 mm Strales, + 32 kn, 2 helos NH90/AW101). 7 are financed and 3 on option: 16 are planned in total.
• 2 x Angelo Cabrini-class high speed special forces boat (On order, for commissioning between 2018/2020: 185 t, 43 m, 40 kn)

2018 Defence Balance:

• 2 additional (III Batch) U-212 updated Hunter-killer submarines (U212E) are financed with commissioning in 2025-2026, for about 1 Billion Euros (With option for 2 other ones, to maintaining the fleet to eight units).

The 2017 Balance Law allocated 12.8 billion (2017–2032 years) also for new, undisclosed, ships, which should be:

• 1 x USSP "Unità Soccorso Sommergibili Polivalente" (Multipurpose submarine rescue vessel) to replace the submarine rescue ship Anteo: 131.5 m x 23 m, 10.500 tonnes, flight deck and hangar for 1 AW-101, ROV, AUV, UUV, hull for artic navigation, etc.
• 1 x UIOM "Unità Idro Oceanografica Maggiore (Ocean going Hydrographic vessel) to replace the hydrographic survey vessel Ammiraglio Magnaghi: 94 m x 16.6 m, 3,600 tonnes, flight deck and hangar.
• 8 x COV (Cacciamine Oceanici Veloci - FOMH Fast Oceanic Mine Hunter) to replace Lerici/Gaeta MHC class, since 20s half years: length about 76 m, displacement 1,300/1,400 t, speed about 25 kn, 2 x ROV, 2 x UUV, armed with OTO Melara 25/80 mm turret.

Planned:

• 1 x LSS Vulcano class, the second one, to replace AOR Vesuvio (A5329)
• 2 x LHD (20,000 t, 5/6 helos AW101, 4 LCU, 500/600 San Marco troops); to replace LHD Santi class remaining
• 2 x DDG (Doria/Horizon class development), about 8,000/9,000 t, in a joint program with France.

Rank structure

Main article: Italian Navy ranks

Italian Navy ranks hierarchy
Category	Admirals						Senior officers			Junior officers				Naval cadets OF(D)
NATO Code	OF-10	OF-9	OF-8	OF-7		OF-6	OF-5	OF-4	OF-3	OF-2		Subaltern officers OF-1
summer uniform (epaulette)
winter uniform (cuff)
Italian rank name	ammiraglio1	ammiraglio di squadra (i.s.)2	ammiraglio di squadra	ammiraglio ispettore comandante di corpo	ammiraglio di divisione	contrammiraglio	capitano di vascello	capitano di fregata	capitano di corvetta	primo tenente di vascello	tenente di vascello	sottotenente di vascello	guardiamarina	aspirante guardiamarina3
English rank name translation	admiral	squadron admiral (s.a.)	squadron admiral	Admiral Inspector Chief of Corps	divisional admiral	counter admiral	ship-of-the-line captain	frigate captain	Corvette Captain	first ship-of-the-line lieutenant	ship-of-the-line lieutenant	ship-of-the-line sublieutenant	navy guard	aspirant navy guard
Notes: 1 The rank of "ammiraglio" (admiral) is assigned to the only naval officer promoted as chief of the defense staff. 2 The rank of "ammiraglio di squadra con incarichi speciali" (squadron admiral with special assignments) is assigned to the naval officer promoted as chief of the naval staff and/or as secretary of defense. 3 As Officer Designated, the rank of "aspirante guardiamarina" is comparable to the Royal Navy midshipman.

See also

• Italian Armed Forces

External links

• Marina Militare official site