Ettore Uicich (16 July 1870 – 19 July 1915) was an Istrian Italian

irredentist Irredentism () is one state's desire to annex the territory of another state. This desire can be motivated by ethnic reasons because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to or the same as the population of the parent state. Hist ...

and war volunteer.

Biography

Ettore Vittorio Uicich was born in

Pisino Pazin (, ) is a town in western Croatia, the administrative seat of Istria County. It is known for the medieval Pazin Castle, the former residence of the Istrian margraves. Geography The town had a population of 8,638 in 2011, of which 4,386 li ...

, Istria (then under Austrian rule), on 16 July 1870. A trader by profession, Uicich was an ardent

already in his youth. He always strove for the "Italianness" of "his hometown and of all of

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

". In 1908, he founded the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

cycling club ''Intrepido'' in his hometown of Pisino (now Pazin, Croatia). 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 ...

, in July 1914, he received a letter of drafting by

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. Uicich, however, had already left his family and was moving to Italy. Before leaving Pisino, he put his Italian flag into a box and dug it in an alley as a token of "faith and hope". It was dug up by his friends in October 1916, dug in a safer place, and dug up again and displayed on his house upon the entry of the

Bersaglieri The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, (, "sharpshooter") are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro Ferrero La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Ar ...

in Pisino in November 1918. His flag is now kept in the of

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

. In Italy, Uicich advocated for interventionism, and when Italy entered the war, despite his age of 45, he joined the Italian Army as a volunteer in

Udine Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...

. He joined the infantry regiment '' Brigata "Re"'', holding the rank of Bersalier Lieutenant. He was killed in the

Battle of Podgora The Battle of Podgora was a battle between Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces during World War I on the Isonzo front. Podgora, also known as Monte Calvario in Italian and Kalvarija in Slovenian, was a key defensive position for the Austro-Hung ...

. He was posthumously awarded the

Silver Medal of Military Valor The Silver Medal of Military Valor () is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, a silver medal. These were intended for j ...

References

{{reflist 1870 births 1915 deaths People from Pazin Istrian Italian people Italian irredentism Italian military personnel killed in World War I Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor