Costanzo Ciano, 1st Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari (; 30 August 1876 – 26 June 1939) was an Italian

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contextu ...

and politician. He was the father of

Galeazzo Ciano Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari ( , ; 18 March 1903 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian diplomat and politician who served as Foreign Minister in the government of his father-in-law, Benito Mussolini, from 1936 until 1 ...

Biography

Early life

Born at

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

the son of Raimondo Ciano and wife Argia Puppo, he entered the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pr ...

in 1891, being commissioned an officer five years later. In 1901, he became '' Tenente di vascello'' and took part in the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...

of 1911–1912.

The First World War

In 1915, at the entrance of Italy in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he was a ''Capitano di corvetta'' (

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

), and was assigned to service in

Cirenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

. After his return to Italy, he operated at the command of fast MAS units, receiving a gold medal for Military Value for a famous action in Bakar Harbour in Croatian Littoral, which was later celebrated by the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio (who had also participated). Ciano was appointed Senior

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

at the end of the war and ennobled by 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 ...

as ''

Conte Conte may refer to: * Conte (literature), a literary genre * Conte (surname) * Conté, a drawing medium * Conte, Jura, town in France * Conté royal family, a fictional family in Tamora Pierce's Tortallan world * Conte, the title of Count in Italy ...

di Cortellazzo e Buccari''.

Post-war fascist

Ciano's ardent nationalism drew him into fascism. He became leader of the Livorno

fascio Fascio (; plural ''fasci'') is an Italian word literally meaning "a bundle" or "a sheaf", and figuratively "league", and which was used in the late 19th century to refer to political groups of many different (and sometimes opposing) orientations ...

and participated in the

March on Rome The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 192 ...

in October 1922. On 31 October 1919, he assumed the post of Undersecretary of State for the

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("M ...

and Commissioner for the Merchant Navy. On 9 November 1923, he was appointed

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

in the Naval Reserve. He was President of the

Italian Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies ( it, Camera dei deputati) is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Senate of the Republic). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical func ...

from 1934 until his death, which occurred at Ponte a Moriano in 1939.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

* 1876 births 1939 deaths People from Livorno Italian nobility Italian Nationalist Association Members of the Grand Council of Fascism Government ministers of Italy Mussolini Cabinet Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy) Deputies of Legislature XXVI of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXVII of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXVIII of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXIX of the Kingdom of Italy Members of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations Politicians of Tuscany Italian admirals Italian military personnel of the Italo-Turkish War Italian military personnel of World War I Recipients of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus {{Italy-noble-stub