Costanzo Ciano, 1st Count of Cortellazzo (; 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 (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

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 Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister in the government of his father-in-law ...

Biography

Early life

Born at

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

, he was the son of Raimondo Ciano and his wife, Argia Puppo. He entered the Livorno Naval Academy in 1891 and was commissioned an officer five years later. In 1901, he became Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant (''tenente di vascello'') and took part in the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...

of 1911–1912.

First World War

In 1915, before the entrance of Italy to the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was a ''capitano di corvetta'' ( lieutenant commander) and was assigned to serve in Cirenaica. After his return to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, he operated at the command of fast MAS units and received 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 promoted to the rank of ''capitano di vascello'' (

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

) at the end of the war.

Postwar fascist

Ciano's ardent

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

drew him into

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

. He became leader of the

fascio and participated in the

March on Rome The March on Rome () was an organized mass demonstration in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (, PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, Fascist Party leaders planned a march ...

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

Undersecretary of State Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...

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

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

in the Naval Reserve. In 1928, he was ennobled by King

Victor Emmanuel III Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albani ...

as '' Conte di Cortellazzo''. He was the president of the

Italian Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies () is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament, the upper house being the Senate of the Republic (Italy), Senate of the Republic. The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform ...

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 from 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 {{Tuscany-politician-stub