Luigi Rizzo - naval commander

Sicilian honoured multiple times for World War One daring

Luigi Rizzo, bedecked with his array
of medals, pictured in 1935

Luigi Rizzo, a celebrated naval commander renowned for his daring exploits during the First World War, was born on this day in 1887 in Milazzo, a seaside town almost at the northeast tip of the island of Sicily, about 35km (22km) west of the city of Messina.

Rizzo, who was awarded the title Count of Grado and Premuda in recognition of two of his greatest successes, rose to the rank of Commander in the Royal Italian Navy, later upgraded to honorary Admiral, and won numerous decorations for bravery, including two Gold Medals and four Silver Medals for Military Valour.

Born into a family of merchant ship captains, Rizzo began his maritime career in the merchant navy. His transition to military service came in 1912 when he was appointed second lieutenant in the Naval Reserve. 

With Italy’s entry into World War One in 1915, Rizzo was assigned to the maritime defence of Grado, a fashionable Austro-Hungarian seaside resort that had been seized by the Italian army because of its strategic importance in the northern Adriatic.

It had become a base for the Italian navy’s torpedo boats and seaplanes and the courage and tactical acumen displayed by Rizzo in protecting the new base, which made use of its natural harbour, of earned him a Silver Medal of Military Valour.

Rizzo’s reputation rose still further following his transfer to the elite MAS (Motoscafo Armato Silurante) flotilla - small, fast torpedo boats used for stealth attacks. In December 1917, he led a successful raid in the Gulf of Trieste, sinking the Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Wien. This feat earned him the Gold Medal of Military Valour and marked him as a formidable naval tactician.

His most legendary feat of daring, which brought him a second Gold Medal, occurred on June 10, 1918 off the Dalmatian island of Premuda, more than 200km (124 miles) south of Trieste, now part of Croatia. Commanding one of the MAS torpedo boats, Rizzo launched a surprise attack that sank the Austro-Hungarian dreadnought SMS Szent István, a 21,700-ton battleship. 

The Austro-Hungarian battleship Szent István, 
shortly before it sank off the island of Premuda

The sinking was a huge psychological and strategic blow to the enemy’s naval power and remains one of the most celebrated victories in Italian naval history, commemorated at naval bases across Italy on June 10 each year as the Festa della Marina.

The wreck of the SMS Szent István remains on the seabed eight nautical miles off the coast of Premuda at a depth of 68m (223 ft). In an area of coast popular with diving enthusiasts, the wreck remains an attraction, although it is considered to be too deeply located for recreational divers because of the specialised equipment required.

Rizzo’s other wartime heroics included the capture of two pilots of an Austrian seaplane that had ditched due to a malfunction, and his missions in the defence of the mouth of the Piave, as a result of which he was promoted to Lieutenant. He was decorated with Silver Medals for Military Valour as a result of both.

During the course of the war, Rizzo also earned the Knight’s Cross of the Military Order of Savoy, along with international honours including France’s Croix de Guerre, Britain’s Distinguished Service Order, and the US Navy Distinguished Service Medal.

In 1919, Rizzo joined Gabriele D’Annunzio’s controversial occupation of Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia), commanding the so-called Fleet of Carnaro and aiding in the city’s supply efforts. 

Rizzo's torpedo boat, safely returned to the lagoon
of Venice after sinking the Szent István

He retired from active naval service in 1920 with the rank of Commander but was later promoted to Admiral as an honorary recognition of his service and legacy. 

Further recognition followed in 1935 when King Victor Emmanuel III conferred upon Rizzo the victory title Conte di Grado e di Premuda - Count of Grado and Premuda - by royal decree.

When Italy entered World War Two in 1940, Rizzo returned to service and for a while took part in anti-submarine warfare in the Strait of Sicily. 

Following the armistice of 1943 and Italy’s surrender to the Allies, Rizzo switched sides and was actively involved in the sabotage of ocean liners and steamships to stop them falling into German hands. He was subsequently arrested by the Nazis and imprisoned in Austria. 

He survived the ordeal but suffered personal tragedy in September of that year when his 22-year-old son Giorgio, who had followed him into naval service as a lieutenant in command of an MAS, was killed in a German bombing raid on Piombino.

Rizzo later recovered his son's body from a mass grave on the island of Elba and published a collection of letters and documents in his memory. 

Luigi Rizzo died in Rome in 1951 after suffering from lung cancer, despite the efforts of his friend, the surgeon Raffaele Paolucci, whom he had known since they served together as naval commanders in World War One and had gone on to have a distinguished career in surgical medicine.

In addition to Giorgio, Rizzo had two other children, Giacomo and a daughter, Maria Guglielmina, who in 2015 attended the launch near Sestri Levante in Liguria of a Bergamini class frigate built for the Italian Navy and named Luigi Rizzo in his honour.

Milazzo, in northeastern Sicily, is dominated by
the huge Norman fortress that watches over it

Travel tip:

Milazzo, where Luigi Rizzo was born, is an historic, coastal town in northeastern Sicily, nestled on a narrow peninsula jutting into the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of 31,500, the town has a long tradition of fishing and shipbuilding and is the departure point for ferries to the Aeolian Islands. But it also boasts a mix of sandy and pebbled beaches, with crystal-clear waters ideal for swimming, snorkeling and diving, while the Capo Milazzo, a rugged promontory at the tip of the peninsula, offers dramatic cliffs, hidden cove, and the natural reserve of Piscina di Venere - a tidal pool named after the goddess Venus.  A Greek settlement in the 8th century BC, it was later a Roman stronghold and over the centuries has passed through Byzantine, Arab, Norman, and Spanish hands. The town played a key role in several military conflicts, including the Battle of Milazzo in 1860, where Giuseppe Garibaldi’s forces clashed with the Bourbons during Italy’s unification.  At the heart of the town stands its massive Norman castle, one of the largest fortified complexes in Sicily. 

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Sunset over the Baia del Silenzio, part of the 
beautiful Ligurian resort of Sestri Levante

Travel tip:

Sestri Levante, just along the Ligurian coast from the shipyard at Riva Trigoso where the frigate Luigi Rizzo was launched in 2015, is a seaside resort between Genoa and the Cinque Terre, known for its scenic beauty. Part of the town occupies a narrow promontory that divides two stunning bays - the Baia del Silenzio (Bay of Silence), a serene, crescent-shaped beach framed by pastel-colored buildings, and the Baia delle Favole (Bay of Fairy Tales), which was named in honour of the Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen, who briefly lived in Sestri Levante. This larger bay hosts the town’s marina as well as promenades, restaurants, and family-friendly beaches.  The town celebrates its literary heritage with the annual Andersen Festival, a week-long celebration of storytelling, theatre and music.  Sestri Levante’s trattorias and wine bars offer relaxed dining with sea views,  featuring local specialities and wines from grapes grown on nearby hills. The resort is popular with Italian families and visitors seeking to enjoy the spectacular beauty of the Ligurian coast without the crowds of Portofino or Monterosso. What’s more, it is easily reached by train, with regular services from Genoa, La Spezia, and Milan. 

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More reading:

How Italy entered World War Two

The WW1 flying ace turned WW2 commander

The Great War hero who became physician to Italy’s Chamber of Deputies

Also on this day:

1551: The birth of composer Giulio Caccini

1881: The birth of Mona Lisa thief Vincenzo Perrugia

1957: The birth of footballer Antonio Cabrini

1965: The birth of chef and TV presenter Carlo Cracco

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Alessandro Cavriani - naval captain

Heroic officer who sacrificed his own life

The destroyer Ugolino Vivaldi was detailed to help
rescue the Italian king, Vittorio Emanuele III

Naval captain Alessandro Cavriani, who posthumously received Italy’s highest military honour after sacrificing his own life to prevent his ailing ship falling into enemy hands, was born on this day in 1911 in the city of Mantua in Lombardy.

Cavriani, who had risen to the rank of corvette captain in the Italian Royal Navy during World War Two, was lieutenant commander of the destroyer Ugolino Vivaldi as Italy prepared to sign the 1943 Armistice with the Allies.

The Vivaldi and her sister ship, the Antonio da Noli, were ordered on September 8 to set sail from Genoa to Civitavecchia, the large port north of Rome, where the following morning they were to pick up King Vittorio Emanuele III, his head of government, Marshal Pietro Badoglio, and about 50 others, and take them to La Maddalena in Sardinia, to prevent their being captured by the advancing German army.

That mission was aborted after the king, informed that the Germans had already captured the road from Rome to Civitavecchia, instead fled in the opposite direction, to Pescara on the Adriatic coast.

The Vivaldi was struck by a missile launched
from a German Dornier DO17 bomber

The Vivaldi and Da Noli were instead sent to join the rest of the Italian fleet at La Maddalena and attack German craft engaged in moving German troops from Sardinia to Corsica.  There, they came under fire from coastal batteries on the Corsican coast.

The Da Noli struck a mine and sank. The Vivaldi, badly damaged, managed to limp away but unable to generate anywhere near its normal speed of 32 knots, it was an easy target for German bombers and was further damaged by a guided missile.

It was not long before the ship’s engines failed completely, at which point the order came for her to be abandoned and scuttled, rather than risk the vessel, which was well equipped with guns and torpedo tubes and could carry more than 100 mines, being seized by the enemy.

As the crew evacuated, Cavriani was one of the last to leave, ensuring all the procedures to scuttle the boat had been enacted, before himself swimming to the relative safety of a life raft. On looking back towards the Vivaldi, he became concerned that the destroyer was still afloat.

Alessandro Cavriani, who
sacrificed his own life

With no regard for their own safety, Cavriani and another crew member, petty officer Virginio Fasan, dived back into the water and swam back to their ship, their aim to open more waterways within the Vivaldi to speed up its sinking. 

After they had achieved that and the Vivaldi began to go down rapidly, he and Fasan appeared on the bridge and saluted the Italian flag, soon disappearing beneath the waters, close to the island of Asinara, off the northern coast of Sardinia. In all, the crew of the Vivaldi had 58 dead and 240 survivors, picked up in the water by German or Allied flying boats.

Cavriani, who had learned his maritime skills at the naval academy in Livorno, had previously been decorated with the Bronze Medal for Military Valour following his success in the battles of Punta Stilo and Capo Teulada. 

Two years after his death he and Fasan were awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valour, Italy’s highest military honour.

Livorno's beautiful seafront promenade, the elegant
Terrazza Mascagni, is one of the city's attractions

Travel tip:

The port of Livorno is the second largest city in Tuscany after Florence, with a population of almost 160,000.  Built during the Renaissance with Medici money as an “ideal town”, it became an important free port, and until the middle of the 19th century was one of the most multicultural cities in Italy thanks to an influx of residents from all round the world who arrived on foreign trading ships. Although it is a large commercial port today with much related industry, and also suffered extensive damage as a prime target for Allied bombing raids in the Second World War, it retains many attractions, including an elegant sea front – the Terrazza Mascagni - and an historic centre – the Venetian quarter – with canals, and a tradition of serving excellent seafood.  The Terrazza Mascagni is named after the composer Pietro Mascagni, famous for the opera Cavalleria rusticana, who was born in Livorno.

Cala Sabina is one of Asinara's beaches, notable 
for their white sand and clear waters

Travel tip:

Situated just off the northwestern tip of Sardinia, the small island of Asinara has been virtually uninhabited since the maximum security prison to which it was host for 25 years was closed in 1997. The census of population in 2001 listed just one resident. Part of the national parks system of Italy, the island is mountainous in geography with steep, rocky coasts. It was recently converted to a wildlife and marine preserve and is home to a population of wild Albino donkeys from which the island may take its name.  Asinara can be reached by boat with summer crossings from Stintino and Porto Torres on Sardinia, with some operators offering a day-long excursion stopping at several of the island’s beaches, notable for white sand and clear water. There is a hostel and restaurant in a former prison guards' barracks at Cala d'Oliva.

Also on this day:

1891: The birth of architect Pier Luigi Nervi

1919: The birth of architect Paolo Soleri

1963: Giovanni Battista Montini elected Pope Paul VI

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