| Unit Name: | Italian Navy |
| Native Name: | Italian: Marina Militare |
| Start Date: | 1861 as Regia Marina (official) 1946 as Marina Militare |
| Country: |  Italy |
| Type: | Navy |
| Role: | Naval warfare |
| Size: | 29,300 personnel 184 vessels (incl. minor auxiliaries) 70 aircraft[1] |
| Command Structure: | Italian Armed Forces |
| Garrison Label: | Headquarters |
| Motto: | Italian: Patria e Onore "Motherland and Honour" |
| March: | Italian: La 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 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 |
| Commander1: | Ammiraglio di squadra Enrico Credendino |
| Commander1 Label: | Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy |
| Commander2: | Ammiraglio di squadra Claudio Gaudiosi |
| Commander2 Label: | Deputy Chief of Naval Staff |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Roundels |
| Identification Symbol 2 Label: | Ensign |
| Identification Symbol 3 Label: | Jack |
The Italian Navy (Italian: Marina Militare||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., 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]
See main article: Regia Marina. The Regia Marina was formed on 17 March 1861, after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy.[5] 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 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 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:
The peace 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, Great Britain, France, Greece, Yugoslavia and Albania as war compensation:
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 aircraft carrier . 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 became the Greek Elli. 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 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 . 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 4 April 1949, Italy joined the North 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 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 Latin: Studio 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.
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, Latin: 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 Latin: [[rostrum (ship)|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 "Latin: 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.
See main article: Structure of the Italian Navy.
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.[6]
| Position | Italian title | Rank | Incumbent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italian: Capo di Stato Maggiore della Marina | Enrico Credendino | |||
| Deputy Chief of Staff of the Navy | Italian: Sottocapo di Stato Maggiore della Marina | Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto[7] | ||
| Italian: Comandante in Capo della Squadra Navale (CINCNAV) | Vice Admiral | Aurelio De Carolis | ||
| Commander Schools Command | Italian: Comandante Scuole (MARICOMSCUOLE) | Vice Admiral | Antonio Natale[8] | |
| Commander Logistics Command | Italian: Comandante Logistico (MARICOMLOG) | Vice Admiral | Salvatore Vitiello[9] | |
Commander Maritime Command North | Italian: Comandante del Comando Marittimo Nord (MARINANORD) | Giorgio Lazio[10] | ||
Commander Maritime Command South | Italian: Comandante del Comando Marittimo Sud (MARINASUD) | Rear Admiral | Eduardo Serra[11] [12] | |
Commander Maritime Command Sicily | Italian: Comandante del Comando Marittimo Sicilia (MARISICILIA) | Rear Admiral | Nicola De Felice[13] | |
Commander Maritime Command Rome | Italian: Comandante del Comando Marittimo Capitale (MARICAPITALE) | Rear Admiral | ||
| Raiders and Divers Grouping | Italian: Comandante Raggruppamento Subacquei ed Incursori (COMSUBIN) | Rear Admiral | Paolo Pezzuti |
The Corps of the Port Captaincies – Coast Guard (Italian: 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, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, as well as the Ministry of Defence. In Italy, it is commonly known as simply the Guardia costiera or Capitaneria di Porto. The Coast Guard has approximately 11,000 staff.[14]
The Italian Navy is divided into six corps (by precedence):
Command of the Italian Fleet (ships, submarines and amphibious forces) and Naval aviation[15] falls under the Commander in Chief Naval Fleet.
See main article: 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, 11 frigates and 8 attack submarines. Patrol and littoral warfare units include: 10 offshore patrol vessels, 10 mine countermeasure vessels, 4 coastal patrol boats, and a varied fleet of auxiliary ships are also in service.[16]
The flagship of the fleet is the carrier Cavour.
See also: Italian Naval Aviation. The Italian Navy operates a diverse fleet of aircraft including fixed-wing, rotary and UAVs.
The 2014 Naval Act allocated €5.4 billion for the following vessels:[19]
The 2017 budget allocated €12.8 billion (2017–2032 years) for the following ships:
The 2018 budget allocated about €1 billion for:[25]
The "Documento Programmatico Pluriennale 2021–2023" funds the following ships:[29]
Planned:
For the Naval Aviation the Navy plans to expand or replace the following assets:[22]
For the San Marco Marine Brigade, the Navy plans to acquire following assets:[22]
See main article: Italian Navy ranks.
The rank insignia of commissioned officers.
The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.