Giuseppe Perrucchetti
Encyclopedia
Alpini
The Alpini, , are the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army. They are currently organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinated to the Alpini Corps Command. The singular is Alpino ....
corps.
He was born in Cassano d'Adda
Cassano d'Adda
Cassano d'Adda is a town and comune in the province of Milan, Lombardy, Italy, located on the right side of the Adda River. It is on the border of the province of Milan and the province of Bergamo.-History:...
, in what is now the province of Milan
Province of Milan
The Province of Milan : /) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Milan. The provincial territory is highly urbanized, resulting in the third highest population density among the Italian provinces with more than 2,000 inhabitants/km2, just behind the provinces of...
in Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
. He studied architecture in the university of Pavia
University of Pavia
The University of Pavia is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. It was founded in 1361 and is organized in 9 Faculties.-History:...
, but when he was 20 he fled from Lombardy (at the time under Austrian domination) to enroll in the Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
army. He was a volunteer in the Second Italian Independence War and in the 1866 war against Austria, at which point he gained a silver medal in the Battle of Custoza
Battle of Custoza (1866)
The Battle of Custoza took place on June 24, 1866 during the Third Italian Independence War in the Italian unification process.The Austrian Imperial army with the old Venetian Army, led by Archduke Albert of Habsburg, defeated the Italian army led by Alfonso Ferrero la Marmora and Enrico Cialdini,...
.
Perucchetti was a Captain in 1872, when he proposed the creation of the Alpini
Alpini
The Alpini, , are the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army. They are currently organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinated to the Alpini Corps Command. The singular is Alpino ....
corp, in an article published in the Italian military journal "Rivista Militare Italiana". Perrucchetti drew examples from the mountain militias in the Roman age, the “Cacciatori delle Alpi” brigades, and the Volontari Cadorini led by Pier Fortunato Calvi.
Perucchetti later became a General, and a Senator, of the Kingdom of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. However, he never became an Alpino, nor did he command the corps he invented. He died in 1916, when the Alpini were operating in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
and in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.