Angelo Cerica (30 September 1885 – 11 April 1961) was an Italian general and senator.

Biography

Early life

Born to Pietro Felice and Luisa Villa in

Alatri Alatri () is an Italian town and ''comune'' of the province of Frosinone in the region of Lazio, with c. 30,000 inhabitants. An ancient city of the Hernici,Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hernici". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). it is kno ...

, Cerica attended the Conti-Gentili

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...

in his native town and later entered a military academy. At September 1906, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and joined the 74th Infantry Regiment, being promoted to full lieutenant in June 1909. During June 1912, he was transferred to the

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 poli ...

Corps. Cerica participated in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, attaining the rank of captain in October 1916. At September 1920, he was further promoted to major and became a lieutenant colonel in February 1927. During the

Second Italo-Abyssinian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression waged by Italy against Ethiopia, which lasted from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Ita ...

, Cerica was appointed commander of the Carabinieri Legion in

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera (), is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...

, an office he held from September 1936 to June 1939. On 10 January 1939 he was promoted to colonel. Due to exceptional merit, he received the rank of brigadier general on June 19 that year, becoming the chief of Carabinieri forces in

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa (, A.O.I.) was a short-lived colonial possession of Fascist Italy from 1936 to 1941 in the Horn of Africa. It was established following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, which led to the military occupation of the Ethiopian ...

. He served in the same capacity in

Italian North Africa Libya (; ) was a colony of Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania, which had been Italian possessions since 1911. Fro ...

from July 1940 until February 1941. Cerica was posted back to Italy, attained the rank of

Divisional General Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

on 22 June 1942 and was made commander of the 4th Carabinieri Podgora Detachment.

Anti-Mussolini plot

General Azolino Hazon, commander of the Carabinieri Corps, was killed in a bombing raid on 19 July 1943; Cerica was called to replace him, although he formally assumed his responsibilities only on 23 July. He had been approved by General

Vittorio Ambrosio Vittorio Ambrosio (28 July 1879 – 19 November 1958) was an Italian general who served in the Italo-Turkish War, World War I, and World War II. During the last phase of World War II Ambrosio supported the fall of Benito Mussolini and Italy ...

after the latter ascertained that Cerica would cooperate with the anti-

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

faction, the members of which were planning to depose the Duce. Cerica organized Mussolini's arrest after his interview with King

Victor Emmanuel III Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albani ...

in Villa Savoia, on 25 July, and directed his forces to prevent riots in the capital. He was promoted to

Corps General An army corps general or corps general is a rank held by a general officer who commands an army corps. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. Normally, the rank is above the divisional ge ...

on 8 August.

Later years

On 9 September, a day after the

Badoglio Proclamation The Badoglio Proclamation was a speech read on Ente Italiano per le Audizioni Radiofoniche (EIAR) at 19:42 on 8 September 1943 by Marshal Pietro Badoglio, Italian head of government, announcing that the Armistice of Cassibile between Italy and the A ...

prompted the Germans to invade Italy, Cerica led a battalion of cadets in battle against the enemy on the

Via Ostiensis The Via Ostiensis () was an important road in ancient Rome. It runs west from the city of Rome to its important sea port of Ostia Antica, from which it took its name. The road began near the Forum Boarium, ran between the Aventine Hill and t ...

, and was defeated. Being sought by the occupation authorities, he went into hiding on 11 September and joined a partisans unit in

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

. He participated in their actions until the liberation of the area. Afterwards, Cerica headed a department in the

Italian Co-Belligerent Army The Italian Co-belligerent Army (Italian: ''Esercito Cobelligerante Italiano''), or Army of the South (''Esercito del Sud''), were names applied to various of the now former Royal Italian Army during the period when it fought alongside the Alli ...

's General Staff until the war's end. He then commanded the military forces in

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

for a month, leaving his post in June 1945. Cerica served as the President of the Supreme Military Court from May 1947 to September 1951. He was also a Member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the Christian Democracy Party in the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

and

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

Legislatures of Parliament.
Members of the III Legislature: Angelo Cerica
'. senato.it.

References

External links

Angelo Cerice
on carabinieri.it. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cerica, Angelo 1885 births 1961 deaths People from Alatri Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians Senators of Legislature I of Italy Senators of Legislature II of Italy Senators of Legislature III of Italy Italian generals Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II Italian resistance movement members Recipients of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the War Merit Cross (Italy) Recipients of the Medal of Freedom Knights of Malta Commanding generals of the Carabinieri