Angelo Cerica (30 September 1885 – 11 April 1961) was an Italian general and senator.

Biography

Early life

Born to Pietro Felice and Luisa Villa in

Alatri Alatri ( la, Aletrium) is an Italian town and ''comune'' of the province of Frosinone in the region of Lazio, with c. 30,000 inhabitants. An ancient city of the Hernici,Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hernici". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed. ...

, Cerica attended the Conti-Gentili

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the th ...

in his native town and later entered a military academy. At September 1906, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and joined the 74th Infantry Regiment, being promoted to full lieutenant in June 1909. During June 1912, he was transferred to the

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...

Corps. Cerica participated in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, attaining the rank of captain in October 1916. At September 1920, he was further promoted to major and became a lieutenant colonel in February 1927. During the

Second Italo-Abyssinian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

, Cerica was appointed commander of the Carabinieri Legion in

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The ...

, an office he held from September 1936 to June 1939. On 10 January 1939 he was promoted to colonel. Due to exceptional merit, he received the rank of brigadier general on June 19 that year, becoming the chief of Carabinieri forces in

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa ( it, Africa Orientale Italiana, AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somalia, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire, conquered in the Seco ...

. He served in the same capacity in

Italian North Africa Libya ( it, Libia; ar, ليبيا, Lībyā al-Īṭālīya) was a colony of the Fascist Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica ...

from July 1940 until February 1941. Cerica was posted back to Italy, attained the rank of

Divisional General Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

on 22 June 1942 and was made commander of the 4th Carabinieri Podgora Detachment.

Anti-Mussolini plot

General Azolino Hazon, commander of the Carabinieri Corps, was killed in a bombing raid on 19 July 1943; Cerica was called to replace him, although he formally assumed his responsibilities only on 23 July. He had been approved by General

Vittorio Ambrosio Vittorio Ambrosio (28 July 1879 – 19 November 1958) was an Italian general who served in the Italo-Turkish War, World War I, and World War II. During the last phase of World War II Ambrosio supported the fall of Benito Mussolini and Italy's ...

after the latter ascertained that Cerica would cooperate with the anti-

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

faction, the members of which were planning to depose the Duce. Cerica organized Mussolini's arrest after his interview with King

Victor Emmanuel III The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

Villa Savoia Villa Ada is a park in Rome, Italy, with a surface of it is the second largest in the city after Villa Doria Pamphili. It is located in the northeastern part of the city. History The wooded expanse was owned by the Italian royal House of Savoy ...

, on 25 July, and directed his forces to prevent riots in the capital. He was promoted to

Corps General An army corps general or corps general is a rank held by a General officer who commands an army corps. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. Normally, the rank is above the divisional ...

on 8 August.

Later years

On 9 September, a day after the

Badoglio Proclamation The Badoglio Proclamation was a speech read on Ente Italiano per le Audizioni Radiofoniche (EIAR) at 19:42 on 8 September 1943 by Marshal Pietro Badoglio, Italian head of government, announcing that the Armistice of Cassibile between Italy and the ...

prompted the Germans to invade Italy, Cerica led a battalion of cadets in battle against the enemy on the

Via Ostiensis The Via Ostiensis ( it, via Ostiense) was an important road in ancient Rome. It ran west from the city of Rome to its important sea port of Ostia Antica, from which it took its name. The road began near the Forum Boarium, ran between the Aventin ...

, and was defeated. Being sought by the occupation authorities, he went into hiding on 11 September and joined a partisans unit in

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

. He participated in their actions until the liberation of the area. Afterwards, Cerica headed a department in the Italian Co-Belligerent Army's General Staff until the war's end. He then commanded the military forces in

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

for a month, leaving his post in June 1945. Cerica served as the President of the Supreme Military Court from May 1947 to September 1951. He was also a Member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the Christian Democracy Party in the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

and

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

Legislatures of Parliament.
Members of the III Legislature: Angelo Cerica
'. senato.it.

References

External links

Angelo Cerice
on carabinieri.it. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cerica, Angelo 1885 births 1961 deaths People from Alatri Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians Members of the Senate of the Republic (Italy) Italian generals Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II Italian resistance movement members 20th-century Italian politicians Recipients of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the War Merit Cross (Italy) Recipients of the Medal of Freedom Knights of Malta