| Italian Navy | |
|---|---|
| Marina Militare | |
 Coat of arms of the Italian Navy, displaying the coats of arms of former Italianmaritime republics (clockwise from top left:Venice,Genoa,Pisa andAmalfi) | |
| Founded | 1861 asRegia Marina (official) 1946 asMarina Militare |
| Country |  Italy |
| Type | Navy |
| Role | Naval warfare |
| Size | 29,300 personnel 184 vessels (incl. minor auxiliaries) 70 aircraft[1] |
| Part of | Italian Armed Forces |
| Mottos | Italian:Patria e Onore "Motherland and Honour" |
| March | La Ritirata (ritirata is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a leave) by Tommaso Mario |
| Anniversaries | 10 June – Sinking of theAustro-Hungarian battleshipSMS Szent István byLuigi Rizzo |
| Decorations | 1 Cavalier Cross of the Military Order of Savoy 3 Cavalier's Crosses of theMilitary Order of Italy 2Gold Medals of Military Valor 1Silver Medal of Military Valor 1Gold Medal for Merited Public Honor |
| Commanders | |
| Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy |  Ammiraglio di squadraGiuseppe Berutti Bergotto |
| Deputy Chief of Naval Staff |  Ammiraglio di squadraClaudio Gaudiosi |
| Insignia | |
| Roundels |   |
| Ensign |  |
| Jack |  |
TheItalian Navy (Italian:Marina Militare,lit. 'Military Navy'; abbreviated asMM) is one of the four branches ofItalian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of theRegia Marina (Royal Navy) after World War II. The Italian Navy has a strength of approximately 29,300 active personnel, with 184 vessels and 70 aircraft in service.[2] It is considered a multiregional and ablue-water navy.[3][4][5]
TheRegia Marina was formed on 17 March 1861, after theproclamation of the Kingdom of Italy.[6] The Italian Navy assumed its present name after the Italian monarchy was abolished following a popular referendum held on 2 June 1946.
At the end of its five-year involvement inWorld War II, Italy was a devastated nation. After the end of hostilities, theRegia Marina – which at the beginning of the war was the fourth largest navy in the world[citation needed], with a mix of modernised and new battleships – started a long and complex rebuilding process. The combat contributions of the Italian naval forces after the signing of the armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943, and the subsequent cooperation agreement on 23 September 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:
Thepeace treaty signed on 10 February 1947 in Paris was onerous for Regia Marina. Apart from territorial and material losses, also the following restrictions were imposed:
The treaty also ordered Italy to put the following ships at the disposals of the victorious nations United States,Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France,Greece,Yugoslavia andAlbania as war compensation:
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(March 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
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 inLa Spezia between 1948 and 1955, including the aircraft carrierAquila. However, theSoviet Union demanded the surrender of the battleshipGiulio Cesare and other naval units designated for transfer. ThecruisersAttilio Regolo andScipione Africano became the FrenchChateaurenault andGuichen, whileEugenio di Savoia became the GreekElli. After break up and transfers, only a small part of the fleet remained to be recommissioned into the Marina. As Western attention turned to the Soviets and theMediterranean Sea, Italian seas became one of the main sites of confrontation between the two superpowers, and Italy's geographical position gave it renewed naval importance within NATO.
_-_Harry_S._Truman_(CVN-75)_and_Charles_de_Gaulle_(R91)_underway_in_2013.JPG)
With the new elections in 1946, the Kingdom of Italy became a republic, and the Regia Marina took the name ofMarina Militare (lit. 'Military Navy'). As theMarshall 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 inWashington wished to keep its own installations on theItalian Peninsula and relaxed the Treaty restrictions by including Italy in the Mutual Defense Assistance Programme (MDAP). On 4 April 1949, Italy joined theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (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.
Within NATO, the Italian Navy was assigned combat control of theAdriatic Sea andStrait of Otranto, as well as the defence of the naval routes through theTyrrhenian Sea. To ensure these tasks aStudio sul potenziamento della Marina italiana in relazione al Patto Atlantico (Study on 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.
Theensign of the Italian Navy is theflag of Italy bearing the coat of arms of the Italian Navy. The shield's quarters refer to the four Medieval ItalianMaritime Republics:
The coat of arms is surmounted by a golden crown, which distinguishes military vessels from those of the merchant navy.
The crown,coronarostrata, was proposed in 1939 as a conjectural link to theRoman navy by AdmiralDomenico Cavagnari, then a member of theChamber of Fasces and Corporations in the Fascist government. In the proposal, Admiral Cavagnari wrote that "in order to recall the common origin [of the Navy] from the Roman mariners, the Insignia will be surmounted by the towered Crown withrostra, the emblem of honour and valour theRoman 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 onthe 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.
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.[7]
| Position | Italian title | Rank | Incumbent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief of Staff of the Navy | Capo di Stato Maggiore della Marina | Vice Admiral | Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto[8] |
| Deputy Chief of Staff of the Navy | Sottocapo di Stato Maggiore della Marina | Vice Admiral | [needs update] |
| Commander in Chief Naval Fleet | Comandante in Capo della Squadra Navale (CINCNAV) | Vice Admiral | Aurelio De Carolis |
| Commander Schools Command | Comandante Scuole (MARICOMSCUOLE) | Vice Admiral | Antonio Natale[9] |
| Commander Logistics Command | Comandante Logistico (MARICOMLOG) | Vice Admiral | Salvatore Vitiello[10] |
| Comandante del Comando Marittimo Nord (MARINANORD) | Rear Admiral | Giorgio Lazio[11] |
| Comandante del Comando Marittimo Sud (MARINASUD) | Rear Admiral | Eduardo Serra[12][13] |
| Comandante del Comando Marittimo Sicilia (MARISICILIA) | Rear Admiral | Nicola De Felice[14] |
| Comandante del Comando Marittimo Capitale (MARICAPITALE) | Rear Admiral | |
| Raiders and Divers Grouping | Comandante Raggruppamento Subacquei ed Incursori (COMSUBIN) | Rear Admiral | Paolo Pezzuti |
TheCorps of the Port Captaincies – Coast Guard (Corpo delle Capitanerie di porto – Guardia costiera) is thecoast guard of Italy and is part of the Italian Navy under the control of theMinistry of Infrastructures and Transports, theMinistry of the Environment, theMinistry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, as well as theMinistry of Defence. In Italy, it is commonly known as simply theGuardia costiera orCapitaneria di Porto. The Coast Guard has approximately 11,000 staff.[15]
The Italian Navy is divided into six corps (by precedence):
Command of the Italian Fleet (ships, submarines and amphibious forces) andNaval aviation[16] falls under theCommander in Chief Naval Fleet.
The fleet includes the following oceangoing units:
Hydrographic Naval Squadron includes:
Patrol and littoral warfare units include:
and a varied fleet ofauxiliary ships are also in service.[17]
The flagship of the fleet is thecarrierCavour.
The Italian Navy operates fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and UAVs.
The 2014 Naval Act allocated €5.4 billion for the following vessels:[20]
The 2017 budget allocated €12.8 billion (2017–2032 years) for the following ships:
The 2018 budget allocated about €1 billion for:[24]
The "Documento Programmatico Pluriennale 2021–2023" funds the following ships:[28]
Planned:
For theNaval Aviation the Navy plans to expand or replace the following assets:[21]
For theSan Marco Marine Brigade, the Navy plans to acquire following assets:[21]
The rank insignia ofcommissioned officers.
The rank insignia ofnon-commissioned officers andenlisted personnel.
| NATO code | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-6 | OR-5 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-2 | OR-1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Italian Navy[36][37] |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |
|  |  | No insignia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primo luogotenente | Luogotenente | Primo maresciallo | Secondo aiutante | Secondo capo scelto | Secondo capo | Sergente | Comune scelto | Comune di prima classe | Comune di seconda classe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Components |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Fleet Command | ||
| Equipment | ||
| Schools | ||
| History and traditions | ||
| Related | ||
Ship classes of theItalian Navy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft carriers | | |
| Amphibious ships | ||
| Destroyers | ||
| Frigates | ||
| Corvettes | ||
| Patrol boats | ||
| Submarines | ||
| Minesweepers | ||
| Auxiliary ships | ||
| Training ships | ||
| Floating dry docks | ||
| Future ships | ||
| ||
| Structure |  | |
|---|---|---|
| NATO maritime forces |
| |
