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 (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

Early life

Born in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) 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 from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, Prince Adalberto was the fourth son of Prince Tommaso, Duke of Genoa (1854–1931), and his wife

Princess Isabella of Bavaria Princess Isabella of Bavaria (Marie Elisabeth Luise Amalie Elvire Blanche Eleonore; 31 August 1863 – 26 February 1924) was the third child and eldest daughter of Prince Adalbert of Bavaria (1828–1875), Prince Adalbert of Bavaria and his wi ...

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

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

Military career

Prince Adalberto pursued a career in the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army () (RE) 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 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...

, achieving the rank of General. He fought in 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 ...

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 waged by Fascist Italy, Italy against Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopia, which lasted from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is oft ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

used the Prince's secret

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

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 (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. The company was later run ...

), where he died in 1982.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adalberto, Duke Of Bergamo 1898 births 1982 deaths Burials at the Basilica of Superga Italian Army generals Italian LGBTQ military personnel Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II Princes in Italy LGBTQ royalty LGBTQ Roman Catholics Military personnel from Turin Nobility from Turin 20th-century Italian LGBTQ people Heirs presumptive