Aldo Nadi (29 April 1899 – 10 November 1965) was an Italian

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

champion.

Biography

Aldo was born into a fencing family in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and both Aldo and his brother

Nedo Nadi Nedo Nadi (9 June 1894 – 29 January 1940) was one of the best Italian fencers of all time. He is the only fencer to win a gold medal in each of the three weapons at a single Olympic Games and won the most fencing gold medals ever at a singl ...

were fencers from a very young age. They were both taught

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ma ...

and

sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

in the classical

Italian school of swordsmanship The term Italian school of swordsmanship is used to describe the Italian style of fencing and edged-weapon combat from the time of the first extant Italian swordsmanship treatise (1409) to the days of classical fencing (up to 1900). Although th ...

by their father, Beppe Nadi, who believed the

épée The (, ; ), also rendered as epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains a ...

to be an "undisciplined" weapon and refused to teach it. The brothers therefore practiced épée by themselves. In 1920, at the age of 21, Nadi won gold medals at

the Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competiti ...

in team foil, team épée, and team sabre. He also won a silver medal in individual sabre, second only to his brother

. Nadi emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1935. He taught fencing in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

from 1935 to 1943, and in 1943 published a book ''On Fencing''. Also in 1943, he relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where he continued to teach fencing in his own school, in addition to occasionally coaching actors for fencing scenes in films. He even made a film appearance himself, as a bodyguard in '' To Have and Have Not'' (1944), starring

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

.Aldo Nadi
IMDb In 1955, Nadi wrote his autobiography (''The Living Sword: A Fencer's Autobiography''), which was published 30 years after his death. Nadi died in his sleep, at his home in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, on 10 November 1965. Nadi was known for his real-life duels. At the 1920 Olympics, he fought Italian weightlifter Filippo Bottino with a riding whip, while Bottino used a wooden beam. The duel ended very quickly as Nadi struck Bottino's hand, causing him to drop the weapon. Later Nadi fought and severely injured a journalist who had mocked him. He also challenged a fellow fencing champion

Edoardo Mangiarotti Edoardo Mangiarotti (; 7 April 1919 – 25 May 2012) was an Italian fencer. He won a total of 39 Olympic titles and World championships, more than any other fencer in the history of the sport. His Olympic medals include one individual ...

because he felt that Mangiarotti was favored to him by the Italian Olympic Committee. Nadi proposed to use pistols, which Mangiarotti declined.

Filmography

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nadi, Aldo Italian male épée fencers 1899 births 1965 deaths Olympic fencers for Italy Olympic gold medalists for Italy Olympic silver medalists for Italy Fencers at the 1920 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in fencing Fencers from Livorno Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Italian male foil fencers Italian male sabre fencers 20th-century Italian sportsmen

Biography

Filmography

Bibliography

See also

References

External links