Italian Navy
The Italian Navy (Italian: Marina Militare, lit. 'Military Navy'; abbreviated as MM) 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.[2][3][4]
For other uses, see Italian Navy (disambiguation).Italian Navy
1861 as Regia Marina (official)
1946 as Marina Militare
29,300 personnel
184 vessels (incl. minor auxiliaries)
70 aircraft[1]
Italian: Patria e Onore
"Motherland and Honour"
La Ritirata (ritirata is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a leave) by Tommaso Mario
10 June – Sinking of the Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Szent István by Luigi Rizzo
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
The ensign of the Italian Navy is the flag of Italy bearing the coat of arms of the Italian Navy. The shield's quarters refer to the four Medieval Italian Maritime Republics:
The coat of arms is surmounted by a golden crown, which distinguishes military vessels from those of the merchant navy.
The crown, corona rostrata, was proposed in 1939 as a conjectural link to the Roman navy by Admiral Domenico Cavagnari, then a member of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations in the Fascist government. In the proposal, Adm. 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 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.
The 2014 Naval Act allocated €5.4 billion for the following vessels:[18]
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:[27]
Planned:
For the Naval Aviation the Navy plans to expand or replace the following assets:[21]
For the San Marco Marine Brigade, the Navy plans to acquire following assets:[21]