Uniforms Of Italy
UNIFORMS OF ITALY The universal colour in full dress and undress coats is a dark, flat blue, faintly tinged with purple. Generals, cavalry and infantry (except Bersaglieri) wear blue-grey trousers and silver ornaments ; staff officers, artillery and engineers dark blue trousers and gold ornaments.
The coat, whether tunic or frock, has a stand and fall collar, on the corners of which invariably figures a five-pointed silver or white star. The cuffs are slightly pointed, except for cavalry. The fulldress head-dress is a low cloth shako, the undress throughout a kepi. Generals wear only the kepi. The tunic, double-breasted for officers and single-breasted for rank and file, is cut very short, and has little piping. Officers have plain blue shoulder-straps with stars showing rank. A white collar is worn under the coat collar by all ranks. Officers have a blue frock, with black braid and plain cuffs.
Infantry have silver buttons and (rank and file) red-edged shoulder-straps and shoulder wings, blue-grey trousers with red piping (officers, double stripe). The shako is blue with red piping (officers, silver braid), silver device and cockade; the kepi (in the rank and file pointed back and front and pressed down at the sides) is similar in colour, etc., to the men's shako. The belts are black. The Grenadier brigade alone has red collars and cuffs, all others are self-coloured (red edge to cuff). The greatcoat ts~ light bluegrey, single-breasted and unadorned except for shoulder wings. White or Holland gaiters are worn with the blue uniform. The brigades are distinguished by gorget patches of the brigade colours, upon which the star is worn. Officers wear a shoulder sash of light blue, and in full dress silver epaulettes.
Cavalry. Line cavalry have light coloured collars, cuffs and shoulder-strap edges, silver buttons, and blue-grey trousers with double back stripe (officers, of the facings colour). Regimental distinctions are given in the table. The full head-dress is a singularly handsome helmet, partly black, partly bright steel, with a tall swanneck crest (see Plate IV., lines 1,2, fig. 8) and on the front a broad white cross. The undress cap is a K>pi with piping as in table. On the men's shoulder-straps is a silver grenade. The lancers (Lanzieri) have coat and trousers as line cavalry with regimental distinctions given below. On the men's shoulder-straps are crossed lances. The head-dress is a fur cap, adorned with crossed lances and chain in silver. It has also a cockade and a small upright plume. The crossed lances appear also on the kepi. The light horse (Cavallegieri) have a similar coat and trousers, except that the collar has a flame-shaped patch. Shoulder-strap, full headdress and kepi as for lancers, with a bugle instead of lances. All cavalry have brown bandoliers over the left shoulder.
Artillery, gold buttons, dark blue trousers, with yellow piping (officers, double yellow stripe). Officers' tunics have black yellowedged collars and cuffs, men's a black yellow-edged collar patch, and yellow edgings on the collars, shoulder-straps and cuff. The badge of the field artillery on shako, kepi and men's shoulder-straps is gold crossed guns; that of the horse and mountain, a gold grenade; fortress artillery are dressed practically as field. The shako has gold badge and short upright plume (horse artillery long black plume, looped back on the right side) ; the kepi piping is yellow. gold epaulettes and light blue sash are worn by officers, and in the horse artillery a pouch-belt as well. Engineers have the artillery uniform, but with red piping, etc. instead of yellow, and badge of crossed axes. The departmental corps wear, as a rule, black facings with light blue piping, differing amongst themselves in details.
The famous Bersaglieri (light infantry) have the infantry tunic and frock with gold buttons, etc. (officers in full dress, epaulettes), dark blue trousers with crimson stripe. Officers have crimson cuffs, all ranks a blue red-edged collar, with crimson flame patch. The distinctive feature is the dark, wide-brimmed, slouch hat with a large drooping cock's feather plume. The Alpine infantry (Alptm) have a black felt hat with silver device and eagle feather, tunic, trousers and kepi with green instead of red piping throughout. Officers wear black collar with green flame patch and green cuffs.
Collar.
Cuff.
Piping.
Line. i Nice Crimson Red ( Black, red) (. edged Yellow Crimson Red Black Yellow Crimson Red Yellow 2 Piedmont 3 Savoy .... 4 Genoa ....
Lancers. 5 Novara . 6 Aosta . . . . 7 Milan. 8 Montebello . . 9 Florence . 10 Victor Emmanuel II.
White Red Crimson Green Orange Yellow - Black As collar Collar.
Flame patch.
Cuff.
Piping.
Light Horse. n Foggia 12 Saluzzo 13 Monferrato 14 Alessandria 15 Lodi 16 Lucca . 17 Caserta I 8 Piacenza . 19 Guides 20 Rome . 21 Padua . 22 Catania 23 Humbert I . 24 Vicenza Red Yellow Black Red White Black Green Lt. blue Black Crimson Orange White Black Crimson Orange Black Red Black White Black Lt. blue Red Red Black It Red Black Lt. blue Black ii White Red Yellow Crimson Orange Reef White Red Green White Crimson Orange White Red General officers have a single-breasted tunic with black velvet collar and cuffs laced with silver, red piping, silver shoulder-straps, and silver buttons. Frock, trousers, etc., as shown on Plate IV., line 2, No. 5. Staff officers wear light blue collar and cuffs, dark blue trousers with gold stripe and shako somewhat as for artillery officers. They wear the usual light blue shoulder sash, but over the left, instead of, as in the army at large, over the right shoulder.
The new service dress is blue-grey, regimental distinctions as on the officer's frock and kepi in all arms. Infantry equipment is shown on Plate IV., line 2, No. 9. The cavalry head-dress is a round grey helmet.
Rank Badges. Non-commissioned officers : Red or silver chevrons above the cuff, and small distinctions on the shako. Officers: On the shoulder-strap, I, 2 and 3 silver stars for subalterns and captains, the same with narrow silver edging round the strap for field officers, 1 , 2 or 3 gold stars on a silver shoulder-strap for general officers; on the shako, silver or gold rings round the upper part, on the k6pi rings round the lower part of the cap, I, 2 or 3 for company officers, I broader ring and I, 2 or 3 for field officers. On the general's kepi there is a red, silver-embroidered band with i, 2 or 3 rings above.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
