Curio Barbasetti, Count of Prun (

Orsara di Puglia Orsara di Puglia is a small town and ''comune'' in the province of Foggia, Apulia, southern Italy. Named as ''Orsara Dauno-Irpina'' between 1861 and 1884, the town was part of the province of Avellino until 1927. History The origins of Orsara ...

, 12 March 1885 – 4 December 1953) was an Italian general 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 ...

, Chief of Staff of the Italian High Command in North Africa in 1942-1943 and Governor of Montenegro from July to September 1943.

Biography

He was born in Orsara di Puglia on March 12, 1885, the son of Count Giovanni Barbasetti di Prun and Fulvia Bertoldi. He enlisted in the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army () (RE) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...

and enrolled at the Royal Military Academy of Artillery and Engineers in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, graduating with the rank of artillery second lieutenant. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on June 30, 1914, and fought with the 9th Infantry Division during

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 ...

, earning a Bronze Medal of Military Valor. After serving as Chief of Staff of the

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

and

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

Army Corps, he commanded the 18th Field Artillery Regiment, and then became military attaché at the Italian Embassy in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 1936 he was promoted to brigadier general and given command of a mechanized brigade. On 1 October 1937, after serving for two months as deputy commander of the

5th Infantry Division Cosseria Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a cont ...

, he became head of the Italian Army War School, and on 7 May 1938 he was promoted to major general. In 1939 he assumed command of the 1st Infantry Division Superga, which after Italy's entrance into World War II on 10 June 1940, participated in the brief offensive against France. In September 1940 he became commander of the 1st Army Corps, based in Turin. On January 1, 1942, he was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

, and on March 3 of the same year he was appointed Chief of Staff of the High Command in North Africa, replacing General

Gastone Gambara Gastone Gambara (10 November 1890 – 27 February 1962) was an Italian General who participated in World War I and World War II. He excelled during the Italian intervention in favor of the nationalists in the Spanish Civil War. During World War I ...

, who had fallen out with the commander of

Afrika Korps The German Africa Corps (, ; DAK), commonly known as Afrika Korps, was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its Africa ...

, General

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...

. In August 1942, following the changes in the organization of the hierarchical structure undertaken by Marshal

Ugo Cavallero Ugo Cavallero (20September 188013September 1943) was an Italian military commander before and during World War II. He was the first Chief of the ''Comando Supremo'' (Italian Supreme Command) on June 1941. He was dismissed from his command due t ...

, he was placed at the head of Delease, the Delegation of the Italian Supreme Command in North Africa and its main liaison with Rommel. In early 1943 he was repatriated and given command of the XIV Army Corps, stationed in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, and on 9 July 1943 he was appointed Governor of Montenegro, replacing General

Alessandro Pirzio Biroli Alessandro Pirzio Biroli (23 July 1877 – 20 May 1962) was an Italian fencer and army General. Biography Biroli won a silver medal competing in the team sabre event at the 1908 Summer Olympics. During the First World War Biroli fought in ...

. After the

Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile ( Italian: ''Armistizio di Cassibile'') was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 by Italy and the Allies, marking the end of hostilities between Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was made public ...

he was captured by the Germans and imprisoned in Oflag 64/Z in Schokken,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, where he remained until its liberation by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in early 1945. He was then held in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

until October of the same year, when he was allowed to return to Italy. He died on December 4, 1953.Jozo Tomasevich, War and Revolution in Yugoslavia: 1941 – 1945, p. 145

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbasetti di Prun, Curio 1885 births 1953 deaths Italian Army generals Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor