Antonio Marceglia (28 July 1915,
Pirano
Piran (; it, Pirano ) is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The town is known for its medieval architecture, with narrow streets and compact houses. P ...
– 13 July 1992,
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
) was a captain in the
Naval Engineers during World War II.
A municipal swimming pool at 245 via Sandro Gallo in
Lido di Venezia
The Lido, or Venice Lido ( it, Lido di Venezia), is an barrier island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy; it is home to about 20,400 residents. The Venice Film Festival takes place at the Lido late August/early September.
Geography
Th ...
is named after him.
Life
Marceglia incumbent in 1933 as an
officer cadet
Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University Air ...
in the naval engineers. In 1938, he graduated from the
University of Genoa
The University of Genoa, known also with the acronym UniGe ( it, Università di Genova), is one of the largest universities in Italy. It is located in the city of Genoa and regional Metropolitan City of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Liguri ...
and became a
Sottotenente. On 10 June 1940 (the day Italy declared war on the United Kingdom) he joined the submarine ''Ruggero Settimo'', in which he took part in three missions in the Mediterranean. In October that year he joined the ''Gruppo Mezzi d'Assalto'', and after spending his time training on the River
Serchio
The Serchio (; la, Auser) is the third longest river in the Italian region of Tuscany at , coming after the Arno at and the Ombrone, . By mean rate of flow, it is the second largest, smaller than Arno but larger than Ombrone.
The principal sou ...
, he took part in two missions against the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
base in
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
on 26 May and 20 September 1941.
He also joined the
Raid on Alexandria on 19 December 1941, which seriously damaged the battleships
''Valiant'' and
''Queen Elizabeth'', the tanker ''Sagona'' and the destroyer
''Jervis''. Marceglia was captured during the operation and held in POW camps in
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
and India. He returned to Italy in February 1944 following her surrender to the Allies and joined the
Mariassalto unit fighting alongside the Allies. He requested leave and in December 1945 became an lieutenant colonel commanding a naval shipyard in Venice. He later became a member of the Consiglio Superiore of the
Banca d'Italia
The Bank of Italy (Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', informally referred to as ''Bankitalia''), (), is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch, via Nazionale, Rome. The bank's curre ...
under the governorship of
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician and banker who was the prime minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and the president of Italy from 1999 to 2006.
Biography Education
Ciampi was born i ...
. His death was reported in the Italian newspapers and also in ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', which ran a long obituary for his noble effort, unparalleled devotion for nation and uncompromising attitude.
"Times" onora Marceglia. L' autorevole quotidiano "The Times" dedica un necrologio d 4 colonne corredato di fotografia all' ex nemico ufficiale della marina militare italiana Antonio Marceglia
from the "Corriere della Sera" online archive, 18 July 1992 - URL accessed 21 January 2015
References
External links
Motivazione della Medaglia d'Oro e cenni sulla carriera
on the Marina Militare Italiana - URL verified 21 January 2015
Motivazione della Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare
on the official site of the Presidenza della Repubblica Italiana - URL verified 21 January 2015
''Genio Navale''
on the official site of the Marina Militare Italiana
''Addio all' eroe di Alessandria Antonio Marceglia. Nel dicembre 1941 affondo' la " Queen Elizabeth " al largo delle coste egiziane. In carcere assieme a Durand de la Penne, autore dell' impresa contro la corazzata "Valiant" ''
from the "Corriere della Sera" online archive, 15 July 1992 - URL accessed 21 January 2015
* Antonio Pannullo
''Ricordo di Antonio Marceglia, il marò che mise in ginocchio l'Inghilterra''
in «Il Secolo d'Italia» online, 13 July 2015 - URL accessed 21 January 2015
''"Times" onora Marceglia. L' autorevole quotidiano "The Times" dedica un necrologio d 4 colonne corredato di fotografia all' ex nemico ufficiale della marina militare italiana Antonio Marceglia''
from the online archive of the Corriere della Sera», 18 July 1992 - URL accessed 21 January 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marceglia, Antonio
1915 births
1992 deaths
Regia Marina personnel of World War II
People from Piran