Giovanni Cerrina Feroni (18 July 1866 – 2 July 1952) was an Italian soldier. He was twice colonial governor of

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

and also a governor of

Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...

Life

Giovanni Cerrina Feroni was born in a noble family of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

in 1866. He went to the "Italian Navy Academy" and graduated as the best student. At the outbreak of the

Italo-Turkish war The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...

, Cerrina Feroni obtained the command of the Italian naval forces stationed in the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

. Also in these operations the commander Cerrina proved skilled as he managed to convince the sheikhs of

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

to rebel against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, obtaining new allies and always putting in greater difficulty the enemy, until May 6, 1912 when the Italian fleet won the Turkish one in the

Battle of Kunfuda Bay The Battle of Kunfuda Bay was a naval battle of the Italo-Turkish War between small squadrons of the Italian and Ottoman navies. On 7 January 1912, the Italian protected cruiser and the s and , cruising the Red Sea, discovered six Ottoman gunbo ...

(today

Al Qunfudhah Al Qunfudhah (), also known as Kunfuda, is a Saudi city in the region of the Tihamah on the coast of the Red Sea. Its population is the fourth largest in Makkah Province, the area of the governate is estimated at 5,195 km², which occupies a ...

). It was an operation that earned Cerrina Feroni the appointment as " Officer of the Military Order of Savoy". At the end of this clash, the Italian Prime Minister

Giovanni Giolitti Giovanni Giolitti (; 27 October 1842 – 17 July 1928) was an Italian statesman. He was the prime minister of Italy five times between 1892 and 1921. He is the longest-serving democratically elected prime minister in Italian history, and the sec ...

personally requested the captain Cerrina asking him to perform on behalf of the government some secret diplomacy missions in 1913. Subsequently Cerrina Feroni passed to the "Ministry of the Colonies", where he remained for several years, first as governor of Eritrea and then going to the same office in Somalia (from 1916 to 1920). During WW1 he was appointed governor of Eritrea from 17 August 1915 to 16 September 1916; he did a second term 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 ...

from 14 April 1921 to 1 June 1923. In the following years he went up to the rank of

Vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

. When he returned to the civil life, he accepted the role of President of the "Istituto per l'Africa italiana" in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He died in the capital of Italy in 1952.

Awards

* - Ufficiale dell'Ordine militare di Savoia * - "Mauriziana" Medal * - Medal (Italo-Turkish War) * - Medal for Allies victory in WW1

References

Bibliography

* Bandini, Franco. ''Gli italiani in Africa, storia delle guerre coloniali 1882-1943''. Longanesi. Milano, 1971. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cerrina Feroni, Giovanni 1866 births 1952 deaths Italian military personnel of the Italo-Turkish War Italian governors of Eritrea Governors of Italian Somaliland Military personnel from Florence Officers of the Military Order of Savoy

Life

Awards

See also

References

Bibliography