Giuseppe Fabre (1910 – 3 November 2007)L'addio al generale Fabre , Corriere di Saluzzo, November 8, 2007. was an Italian
Generale di Corpo d'Armata
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 gene ...
(Lieutenant General) and skier.
Biography
Fabre was born in
Cuneo
Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area.
It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...
Alpini
The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Part of the army's infantry corps, the speciality distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Currently the active Alpini units are organized in two operati ...
battalion "
Saluzzo
Saluzzo (; ) is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region, Italy.
The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc. are found in the su ...
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 ...
. In Aosta he was advanced to the rank of a
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 ...
1936 Winter Olympics
The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 February 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Nazi Ger ...
, where the Italian competition team placed first. One year after, in 1937, Lieutenant Fabre,
Sergeant
Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...
(Sergente)
Luigi Perenni
Luigi Perenni, before 1934 Prenn, (born ''Alois Prenn'', 6 June 1913 – 28 August 1943) was an Italian military officer and skier.
Perenni, son of Vincenzo Prenn, was born in Kiens and grew up in Innichen. As a soldier of the Italian Army ...
Anselmo Viviani
Anselmo Viviani (born 1915, date of death unknown) was an Italian cross-country skier who competed in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1937, in the rank of an Alpino (Soldier E-1), together in team with Tenente Giuseppe Fabre and Sergente Luigi Perenn ...
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 ...
, in June 1940, he was captain and commander of an Alpini company, that defended the ''Col de la Seigne'' on the Western front, a main pass of the Mont Blanc massif. For his merits he was decorated with 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 ...
. Meanwhile advanced to Major, he assumed the command of the Alpini battalion in Saluzzo. As commander of the Alpini brigade in Saluzzo, he was captured and spent two years in war captivity in Germany. In 1956 he became commander of the SCMA. Afterwards he became commander of the Military district of Cuneo.
It was Colonel Fabre, who chose the area for Campo Felice, a well known ski station in the
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 ...
Ministry of Defence
A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
, he supported and organized Olympic events in several functions, for example the
1956 Winter Olympics
The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( or ), were a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956.
Cortina, which ...
Italian National Olympic Committee
The Italian National Olympic Committee (, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the development and management of sports activity in ItalyWithin Italy, CONI recognizes 48 national ...
.
He was married with two children, Silvio and Gianna. Fabre was buried in the family grave at the cemetery of Saluzzo.
Decorations
* Bronze Medal of Military Valor
* Stella d'oro al Merito Sportivo
* Commander of the
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi.
The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...