Costanzo Picco (11 September 1917 – 9 December 2009), was an Italian military officer and skier. He served as an officer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, first in the Italian 4th Army and later in the Italian resistance forces. After WWII, he participated in the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (; ; ; ) and commonly known as St. Moritz 1948 (; ), were a winter multi-sport event held from 30 January to 8 February 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the ...

, and served as a commander in the Italian Mountain Warfare School.

Biography

Picco, born in

Borgo San Dalmazzo Borgo San Dalmazzo () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about southwest of Cuneo. Borgo San Dalmazzo takes its name from Saint Dalmatius of Pavia. Sights ...

, served in the Italian 4th army as an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

during

. Amongst other missions, they fought in cooperation with the

Giustizia e Libertà Giustizia e Libertà (; ) was an Italian anti-fascist resistance movement, active from 1929 to 1945.James D. Wilkinson (1981). ''The Intellectual Resistance Movement in Europe''. Harvard University Press. p. 224. The movement was cofounded by ...

in the

Valle Maira Maira Valley (in Italian ''Val Maira'' or ''Valle Macra'') is a valley in south-west of Piedmont in the Province of Cuneo, Italy. Etymology The valley takes its name from the river Maira, a right-hand tributary of the Po which flows through the ...

. (Italian). He was taken prisoner during the war twice, once by the French and once by the Germans, but was able to flee both times. During his time in the

Italian resistance The Italian Resistance ( ), or simply ''La'' , consisted of all the Italy, Italian Resistance during World War II, resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social Republic ...

time, he served as liaison officer between the partisans of justice and freedom in

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

and the allied troops. Further received decorations were the

Bronze Medal of Military Valor The Bronze Medal of Military Valor () is an Italian medal for gallantry. It was established by Charles Albert of Sardinia on 26 March 1833, along with the higher ranking Gold Medal of Military Valor and Silver Medal of Military Valor, which were ...

(medaglia di Bronzo al Valor Militare) and the

War Merit Cross The War Merit Cross () was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award. A " de-Nazified" version of the War Merit Cross was reissued in 1957 ...

(Croce al Merito di Guerra). After the war he led the national team in the demonstration event of

military patrol Military patrol is a team winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Formerly ski mountaineering was also part of the sport. It is usually contested between countries or milit ...

(a precursor to

biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...

) in the

, and placed in fourth Advanced to the rank of a Capitano shortly after the Olympic games, he was transferred to the Italian mountain warfare school () in

Aosta Aosta ( , , ; ; , or ; or ) is the principal city of the Aosta Valley, a bilingual Regions of Italy, region in the Italy, Italian Alps, north-northwest of Turin. It is situated near the Italian entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel and the G ...

.''Dal dopoguerra al 1960''
(Italian), Fondo Italia. 1951, he received his second Bronze Medal of Military Valor. In 1952 he became

company commander A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are made up of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and struc ...

of the 43rd Alpine Ski-battalion "Monte Cervino" (), a ski warfare company, in Aosta. He had the command over the 37th Alpine Company during its mission to carry and place the monumental statue of Christ (by Alfredo Bai) on the top of the Balmenhorn in 1955.''Cinquante'anni fa l'epica impresa degli alpini: posato sul Balmenhorn il „Cristo delle vette“''
(Italian), L'Alpino, August/September 2005. From 1960 to 1965 he was commander of the ''Scuola Militare Alpina'' with the rank of a

Tenente Colonnello The Italian Army ranks are the ranks used by the Italian Army, the insignia for which are worn on epaulettes of shirts. Ranks in the Italian Army indicate both their officers' status and seniority, as dedicated members of the Italian militia. As ...

.''Centro Addestramento Alpino''
(Italian). Picco was the first president of the ''Associazione Sport Invernali Valle d'Aosta'' (ASIVA)''Cenni storici: ASIVA''
(Italian). and was advanced to General later.''Gli alpini in Afghanistan''
(Italian), November 2002, p. 10. He was still active as a mountain guide of the '' Trenker-Trek''Trenker Trek 2008
/ref> before he died. He was married to Pia Greppi.Il Generale Costanzo Picco
Ciao Pais N° 5, September/October 2010, p. 6.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Picco, Costanzo Italian military patrol (sport) runners Olympic biathletes for Italy Italian Army generals Military patrol competitors at the 1948 Winter Olympics People from the Province of Cuneo Italian resistance movement members Alpini Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the War Cross for Military Valor 1917 births 2009 deaths