Pietro Micheletti (19 October 1900 – 25 March 2005) was an Italian military commander. He was born in Pennabilli, the second of three brothers, into a family in Marche who had moved to Pennabilli in 1500 from

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an impor ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, In 1917, during

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 ...

, he volunteered for the frontline, and was sent into battle on 15 June 1918 in the elite troop of '

Arditi Arditi (from the Italian verb ''ardire'', lit. "to dare", and translates as "The Daring nes) was the name adopted by a Royal Italian Army elite special force of World War I. They and the opposing German '' Stormtroopers'' were the first modern ...

' at the

Battle of the Piave River The Second Battle of the Piave River, fought between 15 and 23 June 1918, was a decisive victory for the Kingdom of Italy, Italian Army against the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I. Though the battle proved to be a de ...

. Awarded medals for bravery for the deeds he performed during some fierce battles towards the end of the war, he followed his battalion commander at the War Office, where he held executive positions at the Department of Defence. In December 1919, he was a member of the military commission which negotiated the surrender of the breakaway city of

Fiume Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

by Gabriele D'Annunzio. In 1958 the Italian President appointed him Knight of the Order of Vittorio Veneto; in October 2000 the Council of the Marche Region, to celebrate its one hundred years anniversary, awarded him the Cross of the Council of the Marche Region. On 29 November 2003 the City of

Pennabilli Pennabilli ( rgn, La Pénna) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rimini in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna and about south of Rimini. In 2019, the podcast '' This is Love'' spoke with Anna Bona ...

, because of services rendered to the nation during the First World War, presented him with the keys of the City, an honour previously awarded only to the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

. In April 2004 the Governor of the Province of Pesaro and Urbino, listed him among those who paid tribute to the land of Pesaro and Urbino and presented him with a province of Apifarfalle. On 2 June 2005 President

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 ...

: "noted the heroic deeds performed by Cav. Pietro Micheletti during the First World War and his meritorious work in the interest of the Nation" and welcomed the request made by the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, Cav.

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...

, to appoint him a

Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

. He died on 25 March 2005 at the age of 104.

References

External links

*
La Canzone del Piave
' played by the official band of the Italian Army *

' played by

Giovanni Martinelli Giovanni Martinelli (22 October 1885 – 2 February 1969) was an Italian operatic tenor. He was associated with the Italian lyric-dramatic repertory, although he performed French operatic roles to great acclaim as well. Martinelli was one of t ...

(1918) {{DEFAULTSORT:Micheletti, Pietro 1900 births 2005 deaths Italian centenarians Men centenarians Italian military personnel of World War I Knights of the Order of Vittorio Veneto

See also

References

External links