The feather Each soldier is issued with a black
raven feather, which he will carry at all times on the Cappello Alpino. When in combat the feather will be placed on the left side of the helmet. Officers above the rank of captain originally wore a white
eagle feather, which has been replaced in later years by a white
goose feather. Non-commissioned officers and officers up to the rank of captain continue to carry a black eagle feather. The feather is approximately 10-12 inches long and is carried with a slight backward and inbound inclination on the left side of the Cappello.
The Fregio The fregio is a coat of arms indicating the wearer's regiment. It is black for soldiers, and golden for officers; both variants are sewn to the front of the Cappello. Today, soldiers serving on a permanent basis are issued the golden variant of the fregio too. Each fregio carries an eagle with spread wings on top and below symbols, which indicate the wearer's regiments specialization (i.e. artillery regiment, logistics regiment,...) and at the centre of the fregio a half-inch circle with the regiment's number. The symbols indicating a regiment's specialization are: •
Alpini: eagle with spread wings, two
blowing horns, crossed rifles •
Mountain Artillery: eagle with spread wings, two blowing horns, crossed cannons •
Engineers: eagle with spread wings, two blowing horns, crossed
axes •
Sappers: eagle with spread wings, two blowing horns, a
gladius short sword, a burning
grenade, crossed axes •
Signals: eagle with spread wings, two blowing horns, round
antenna, crossed axes and flashes of
lightning •
Materials and Transport: eagle with spread wings above a spur
gear with spread wings •
Medical officers: eagle with spread wings above a five-pointed star with the
red cross symbol and crossed staff of
Asclepius •
Medical troops: eagle with spread wings above a five-pointed star with the
red cross symbol •
Alpini Generals: a stylized silver eagle with spread wings, holding a silver laurel wreath, with a central red shield inscribed with the silver letters "RI" (for
Repubblica Italiana), all together on a ribbon of red cloth.
The Nappina Description The nappina is a small piece of wood, on which a tuft of coloured wool threads is sewn. The piece of wood contains a little hole, in which the feather is sheathed. Also, a thin bent wire juts out from the wood to allow the nappina to be latched onto the left side of the Cappello Alpino. The nappina were first issued to distinguish between the battalions in an Alpini regiment: • I battalion • II battalion • III battalion • IV battalion and battalions not assigned to a regiment The colours are the same as found on the Italian flag of the
Kingdom of Italy. Soldiers of the Mountain Artillery units were issued a green tuft with a black patch in the middle onto which the number of their battery was written in yellow. Officers below the rank of general and non-commissioned officers wear a golden-coloured metal wrap and generals a silver-coloured metal wrap instead of the nappina. Later further nappinas were issued in various colours and forms.
Alpini For an overview of the nappinas of all Alpini battalions see the main article about the Alpini. Today the following units continue to carry the nappina: • '''
Morbegno Battalion
(5th Alpini Regiment), Feltre Battalion''' (
7th Alpini Regiment) • '''
Tolmezzo Battalion
(8th Alpini Regiment), Vicenza Battalion
(9th Alpini Regiment), Aosta Battalion''' (Alpini Formation Centre) • '''
Saluzzo Battalion
(2nd Alpini Regiment), Bassano Battalion''' (
6th Alpini Regiment) • '''
Susa Battalion
(3rd Alpini Regiment), ''L'Aquila
Battalion' (
9th Alpini Regiment)
Other Alpini units The Alpini, not assigned to one of the traditional Alpini battalions, carry either a blue nappina or a blue nappina with a black roundel on which the type of superior unit is inscribed.
Artillery The Mountain Artillery units of the Alpine troops carry a
green nappina with a black or yellow roundel on which the number of the battery or the type of superior unit is inscribed. The units in service, which carry an Artillery nappina, are the: •
1st Mountain Artillery Regiment •
2nd Mountain Artillery Regiment •
3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment Engineers and Signals The Engineer and Signal units of the Alpine troops carry an
amaranth nappina; units that supported the
4th Alpine Army Corps directly had "CA" in white inscribed on the nappina.
Logistic Services Military logistics units (
Transport,
Medical,
Veterinary,
Administrative,
Commissariat and
Maintenance units) carry a
violet nappina; units that supported the
4th Alpine Army Corps directly had "CA" in white inscribed on the nappina.
No longer in use Rank insignia Officers carry the grade displaying their rank on the left side of the Cappello Alpino. Instead of the nappina, the feather is held in place by a silver or golden-coloured metal wrap. Non-commissioned officers and officers up to the rank of captain carry a brown eagle feather and officers starting with the rank of major carry a white
goose feather, instead of the standard black
raven feather. == References ==