Italian Army

Esercito Italiano Italian Army
Coat of Arms of the Italian Army
Active	27 March 1861 – today
Country	Italy
Allegiance	Italian Republic
Type	Army
Size	99,042 (2016)
Part of	Italian Supreme Defense Council
Garrison/HQ	Rome
Motto(s)	Latin: Salus Rei Publicae Suprema Lex Esto "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law"
March	Parata d'Eroi (Heroes' Parade) by Francesco Pellegrino, 4 Maggio (May 4) by Fulvio Creux
Anniversaries	November 4, National Unity and Armed Forces Day May 4, Army Day
Engagements	Risorgimento War of 1866 First Italo-Abyssinian War Italo-Turkish War World War I Second Italo-Abyssinian War Spanish Civil War Italian invasion of Albania World War II Kosovo War Iraq War War in Afghanistan War on Terrorism
Decorations	3 Cavalier Crosses of the Military Order of Italy 1 Gold Medal of Military Valor 2 Gold Medals of Civil Valor 1 Silver Medal of Civil Valor 1 Silver Medal of Civil Merit
Commanders
President of Italy	Sergio Mattarella
Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito (Chief of Staff)	General Danilo Errico
Notable commanders	Giuseppe Garibaldi Armando Diaz Luigi Cadorna Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke of Aosta Enrico Caviglia Ettore Bastico Ugo Cavallero Pietro Badoglio Rodolfo Graziani Giovanni Messe
Insignia
Logo

The Italian Army (Italian: Esercito Italiano; EI) is the land defence force of the Italian Armed Forces of the Italian Republic. The army's history dates back to the unification of Italy in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China, Libya (1911–1912), northern Italy against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I, Abyssinia before World War II, and in World War II in Albania, Greece, north Africa, Russia and Italy itself. During the Cold War the army prepared itself to defend against a Warsaw Pact invasion from the east. Since the end of the Cold War the army has seen extensive peacekeeping service and combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft the Mangusta attack helicopter, recently deployed in UN missions.

The headquarters of the Army General Staff are located in Rome, at the back of the Presidential Palace. The army is an all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 99,042 (2016) personnel in 2016.

The Italian Army originated as the Royal Army (Regio Esercito) which dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy following the seizure of the Papal States and the unification of Italy (Risorgimento). In 1861, under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi, Victor Emmanuel II of the House of Savoy was invited to take the throne of the newly independent kingdom.