Prince Adalberto of Savoy, Duke of Bergamo (19 March 1898 – 15 December 1982), was an Italian prince of the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

Early life

Born in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, Prince Adalberto was the fourth son of

Prince Tommaso, Duke of Genoa Prince Tommaso of Savoy, 2nd Duke of Genoa (Tommaso Alberto Vittorio; 6 February 1854 – 15 April 1931), who is also known as ''Thomas Albert Victor of Savoy'', was an Italian royal prince,Enache, Nicolas. ''La Descendance de Marie-Therese de ...

, and his wife

Princess Isabella of Bavaria it, Maria Isabella Luisa Amalia Elvira Bianca Eleonora , house =Wittelsbach , father = Prince Adalbert of Bavaria , mother =Infanta Amalia of Spain , birth_date = , birth_place = Nymphenburg Palac ...

(1863–1924). On 22 September 1904 he was given the title Duke of

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

Military career

Prince Adalberto pursued a career in the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...

, achieving the rank of General. He fought in the

First World War 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 ...

on the Montello in October 1917, and in Vallagarina in February 1918. In 1936, he commanded the Italian 24 Infantry Division Gran Sasso during the

Second Italo-Ethiopian 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 ...

and later the 58th Infantry Division Legnano. When Italy joined

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he became commander of the Italian 8th Army (1940–1942), and in 1943 of the 7th Army.

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 ...

used the Prince's secret

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

against him to ensure the loyalty of the Prince as well as other LGBT members of the House of Savoy to the Fascist Party.

Later life

After the war he lived quietly and mostly anonymously, and settled in a villa on the property of his friend, Gertrud Kiefer von Raffler (the widow of Massimo Olivetti, son of

Camillo Olivetti Samuel David Camillo Olivetti known just as Camillo (August 13, 1868 – December 1943) was an Italian electrical engineer and founder of Olivetti & Co., SpA., the Italian manufacturer of computers, printers and other business machines. Th ...

), where he died in 1982.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adalberto, Duke Of Bergamo 1898 births 1982 deaths Burials at the Basilica of Superga Italian generals Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II Italian princes Military personnel from Turin Nobility from Turin