Italian-wiseguy
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 271
- Location
- Italy (Parma and Rome)
Hi!
As in another thread the argument was touched, I'd like to tell something about the characteristic hat of italian army's mountain troops, the Alpini (sing. Alpino).
A little introduction on the alpini themselves, before:
The Alpini corps was founded in the late XIX century in order to defend the mountain borders of Italy; originally it was intended to be formed only by local people, but soon evolved in a corps recruited in every region in Italy that could be, sometimes with a certain degree of generosity, called "mountain". As these troops were the few to have a strong esprit-de-corps and good, sometimes great, training, aside with Bersaglieri and sardinian troops (and later the Folgore airbornes of Al Alamein fame), these mountain guys were used an expeditionary forces every where the (often foolish) governments of Italy needed them, from Africa to Russia.
And they fought well, as Stalin himself recognized that the italian Alpine Division was the only foreign army to have ever left the russian ground without being defeated.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpini
(sorrry... in italian)
Originally they wore... a derby! Decorated with an eagle feather and regiment insignia.
http://www.glialpini.com/bombetta_800.html
Then, in 1909, they changed it with the model they're currently using, a green-gray felt hat (the color stayed the same also when italian army turned to khaki) obviously with an "eagle" feather (most of the times it was a turkey's one, actually, but it's always referred as "eagle").
Common alpini have blak feathers; mountain artillery, brown ones; high officers, white ones.
The "eagle" feathers were used by Alpini also on helmets and pit helmets; but, when possible, they always wore their beloved hat.
http://www.truppealpine.it/Lista generale cappelli alpini.htm
The hat is issued with an open crown, and, by regulament, it has to stay this way; nonetheless, not only every single alpino that was issued the hat started to shape it in a more smart way as the very moment he received it;
but also every Regiment developed it's own traditions in terms of shapes.
E.g. the Julia regiment (pronounce Ih-OO-lih-ah, the latin way, having the name of an old legion of the Roman army, the Julia Alpina) shapes its hats with the brim bending on the right side; cause when its troops were coming home from Russia, i.e. going from east to west, they had to shape the brim this way to protect their faces from the freezing northern winds.
Normally, every alpino was issued two hats, by the way identicals; one intented to be used everywhere, during camps and climbs, in rain, snow etc., in order to spare the other for parade or free-time.
The "working" hat, if necessary, could have the brim entirely turned down, to let rain or snow flow down.
Then in the '60s the "working" hat was subsituted by a kind of felt mountain cap, called "the norwegian" in the italian military jargon;
this introduction almost caused a rebellion in the traditionalistic former Alpini's association.
(btw, in italian military jargon a normal cap, like a baseball one, is called "a stupid"
).
well, I hope not having been too boring.
Ciao!!
As in another thread the argument was touched, I'd like to tell something about the characteristic hat of italian army's mountain troops, the Alpini (sing. Alpino).
A little introduction on the alpini themselves, before:
The Alpini corps was founded in the late XIX century in order to defend the mountain borders of Italy; originally it was intended to be formed only by local people, but soon evolved in a corps recruited in every region in Italy that could be, sometimes with a certain degree of generosity, called "mountain". As these troops were the few to have a strong esprit-de-corps and good, sometimes great, training, aside with Bersaglieri and sardinian troops (and later the Folgore airbornes of Al Alamein fame), these mountain guys were used an expeditionary forces every where the (often foolish) governments of Italy needed them, from Africa to Russia.
And they fought well, as Stalin himself recognized that the italian Alpine Division was the only foreign army to have ever left the russian ground without being defeated.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpini
(sorrry... in italian)
Originally they wore... a derby! Decorated with an eagle feather and regiment insignia.
http://www.glialpini.com/bombetta_800.html
Then, in 1909, they changed it with the model they're currently using, a green-gray felt hat (the color stayed the same also when italian army turned to khaki) obviously with an "eagle" feather (most of the times it was a turkey's one, actually, but it's always referred as "eagle").
Common alpini have blak feathers; mountain artillery, brown ones; high officers, white ones.
The "eagle" feathers were used by Alpini also on helmets and pit helmets; but, when possible, they always wore their beloved hat.
http://www.truppealpine.it/Lista generale cappelli alpini.htm
The hat is issued with an open crown, and, by regulament, it has to stay this way; nonetheless, not only every single alpino that was issued the hat started to shape it in a more smart way as the very moment he received it;
but also every Regiment developed it's own traditions in terms of shapes.
E.g. the Julia regiment (pronounce Ih-OO-lih-ah, the latin way, having the name of an old legion of the Roman army, the Julia Alpina) shapes its hats with the brim bending on the right side; cause when its troops were coming home from Russia, i.e. going from east to west, they had to shape the brim this way to protect their faces from the freezing northern winds.
Normally, every alpino was issued two hats, by the way identicals; one intented to be used everywhere, during camps and climbs, in rain, snow etc., in order to spare the other for parade or free-time.
The "working" hat, if necessary, could have the brim entirely turned down, to let rain or snow flow down.
Then in the '60s the "working" hat was subsituted by a kind of felt mountain cap, called "the norwegian" in the italian military jargon;
this introduction almost caused a rebellion in the traditionalistic former Alpini's association.
(btw, in italian military jargon a normal cap, like a baseball one, is called "a stupid"
).well, I hope not having been too boring.
Ciao!!
