The 4th Carabinieri Mounted Regiment ( it, 4° Reggimento Carabinieri a Cavallo) is an Italian

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...

mounted police Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. Their day-to-day function is typically picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and increasingly in t ...

unit of the

1st Carabinieri Mobile Brigade The 1st Carabinieri Mobile Brigade ( it, 1° Brigata Mobile Carabinieri) is a Carabinieri formation tasked with riot control, civil defence and security duties. History While the 1st Carabinieri Mobile Brigade was established in its present fo ...

. The regiment is tasked with

riot control Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irratio ...

and rural patrol. It was formed on 1 April 1963 by merging smaller existing mounted units of the Carabinieri. A

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

commands the Regiment, which is located at the barracks "''Tor di Quinto''" in Rome. The Carabinieri Regiment is popular for their famous horse carousel that reaches reenacts the Carabinieri's charge at the

Battle of Pastrengo The Skirmish of Pastrengo was fought between the Piedmontese and Austrian army on 30 April 1848, in the course of the First Italian War of Independence. Prelude The Austrian forces were deployed in a way that threatened any Piedmontese attack ...

History

While mounted units of the Carabinieri existed since their inception, the 4th Carabinieri Mounted Regiment traces its origins to the formation of the 11th Carabinieri Mechanized Brigade. The brigade was established to adjust the organization of the

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...

s and of

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

units for both military and public order tasks. The aim was to ensure Carabinieri Battalions the availability of all elements necessary to be in a position to act in isolation and overcome considerable resistance without having to rely on the competition of other Army Corps or other Armed Forces, to ensure Battalions speed of movement and concentration in large sectors of foreseeable use and a constant high training level. The 4th Cavalry Carabinieri Regiment (based from the beginning in Rome) was subordinated to the Brigade Command and consisted of 2 Squadrons Groups (Battalion-level units) and 1 Armoured-motorized Squadron: * Command Squadron (company-level unit); * Armoured-motorized Squadron; * I Squadrons Groups "Pastrengo"; * II Squadrons Groups "Allievi"; * Equestrian Centre. On 15 June 1965, the regiment organization was heavily modified: the II Squadrons Group "Allievi" passed under Students Legion in Rome, while three Territorial Squadrons Group in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

and

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...

passed under the Regiment with the name of II, III and IV Squadrons Group. On 1 January 1966, the Regiment lost the Equestrian Centre. In 1967, the Regiment was given the Equestrian Sport Sections Detachment in

Montelibretti Montelibretti is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about northeast of Rome on the slopes of Monti Sabini. Montelibretti borders the following municipalities: Capena, Fara in ...

. On 31 October 1968, the Armoured-Motorized Squadron and the Squadrons Groups of Milan, Cagliari and Palermo were disestablished, leaving the Regiment with 1 Command Squadron and 1 Squadrons Group; the following day the II Squadrons Group was established. The Equestrian Sport Sections Detachment was disestablished and on 16 November 1968 the Regiment gained two Carabinieri Detachments Equestrian Sections in Montelibretti and in Castro Pretorio. In 1972 the Command Squadron was transformed in Command Unit, under the leadership of a Major or a Lieutenant Colonel and the post of Officer assigned to the Command was abolished. In 1974 the two Carabinieri Detachments Equestrian Sections were disbanded. In 1976 the Regiment regained the Equestrian Centre, and the following year the unit was renamed as the Carabinieri Cavalry Regiment. In 2001 the Regiment was assigned to the newly formed 1st Carabinieri Mobile Brigade and in 2007 it regained the original name "4th Carabinieri Cavalry Regiment". In 2009 the Equestrian Sports Section was separated from the Regiment. A further regimental reorganisation took place in 2012.

Organization

Nowadays, the 4th Carabinieri Cavalry Regiment consists of: * 1 Squadrons Group (2 Squadrons); * 1 Equestrian Centre; * 1 Command Office, 1 Command Squadron and 1 Quadrupeds Infirmary.

Missions

Missions entrusted to the 4th Carabinieri Cavalry Regiment are varied. Ordinary activities include patrols in impervious areas on the national territory, participation in riot control, rescue and

civil defence Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mit ...

; alongside normal activities, the Regiment, through the Squadrons Group, carries out the Historic Carousle, an equestrian essay. Finally, the Regiment carries out honour services. The Equestrian Centre provides the equestrian training to Carabinieri, as well as sports activities based on riding.

References

{{coord, 41.9458, N, 12.4822, E, source:wikidata, display=title Units and formations of the Carabinieri Cavalry units and formations of Italy Military units and formations established in 1963 Mounted police Gendarmerie regiments Carabinieri regiments of Italy

History

Organization

Missions

See also

References