Original Item. Only One Available. The Bersaglieri are a corps of the Italian Army originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Army of the Kingdom of Sardinia, later to become the Royal Italian Army. They have always been a high-mobility light infantry unit, and can still be recognized by the distinctive wide brimmed hat that they wear (only in dress uniform in modern times), decorated with black capercaillie feathers. The feathers are usually applied to their combat helmets. Another distinctive trait of the Bersaglieri is the fast jog pace they keep on parades, instead of marching. Italy began the Second World War with 12 Bersaglieri regiments of three battalions each. Over the preceding years the Army had resisted suggestions to dilute their quality, and recruits continued to be of above-average size and stamina, endured intense physical training and had to qualify as marksmen.

This is a lovely WWI era statue of a Bersaglieri soldier in his iconic dress cap with feather plume and uniform with cords and ammunition belt with attached bayonet. The soldier is missing his rifle, but otherwise he looks tremendous. The statue measures 11 ¾” tall and the base measures roughly 3” in diameter.

A great statue for any Italian collection, ready for display.