The Cappello Alpino is the most distinctive feature of the Italian Army's Alpini troops' uniform. The Alpini are light Infantry troops, specializing in mountain combat. Initially, the Cappello was only issued to the Alpini, but soon the Cappello was adopted by the Alpini Corps' support units like Artillery, signals, and engineers. Today the Cappello is issued to members of 15 Army regiments, 3 battalions and various high commands. Thanks to the black raven feather, which is carried on each Alpini soldier's Cappello, the Alpinis are known as Le Penne Nere ("The Black Feathers") in Italy. A nickname the Alpini quickly adopted for themselves.
History
On 7 June 1883, the "Fiamme Verdi" (green flames) collar patches were introduced thus making the Alpini officially a specialty within the Italian infantry corps. At the same time, the issuing of the Cappello Alpino began. At first, the hat was a round black felt hat, nicknamed bombetta (bowler hat), but with the introduction of the new green-grey uniform in 1910 the hat was changed to the distinctive grey felt hat that is still retained today. The Cappello Alpino is made of grey felt a quarter of an inch thick. In the front, the rim is flattened to protect the face from rain and snow. On the left and right sides, four small metal-encrusted holes allow for an exchange of air. Around the lower half of the round top section, a green-grey leather band and for officers a golden braid encompasses the Cappello. Inside the Cappello has a two-inch black leather band where Cappello and head meet.
Each Cappello carries symbols which identify the wearer's rank, unit and specialization:
the feather, symbolizing the Alpini Corps
the fregio, a coat of arms indicating the regiment
the nappina, a coloured tuft denoting the battalion (later the specialization too) the rank insignia for non-commissioned and commissioned officers
Description
The feather
Each soldier is issued with a black raven feather, which he will carry at all times on the Cappello Alpino. When in combat the feather will be placed on the left side of the helmet. Officers above the rank of captain originally wore a white eagle feather, which has been replaced in later years by a white goose feather. Non-commissioned officers and officers up to the rank of captain continue to carry a black eagle feather. The feather is approximately 10-12 inches long and is carried with a slight backward and inbound inclination on the left side of the Cappello.
The Fregio
The fregio is a coat of arms indicating the wearer's regiment. It is black for soldiers, and golden for officers; both variants are sewn to the front of the Cappello. Today, soldiers serving on a permanent basis are issued the golden variant of the fregio too. Each fregio carries an eagle with spread wings on top and below symbols, which indicate the wearer's regiments specialization (i.e. artillery regiment, logistics regiment,...) and at the centre of the fregio a half-inch circle with the regiment's number.
The symbols indicating a regiment's specialization are:
Alpini: eagle with spread wings, two blowing horns, crossed rifles
Mountain Artillery: eagle with spread wings, two blowing horns, crossed cannons
Engineers: eagle with spread wings, two blowing horns, crossed axes
Sappers: eagle with spread wings, two blowing horns, a gladius short sword, a burning grenade, crossed axes Signals: eagle with spread wings, two blowing horns, round antenna, crossed axes and flashes of lightning Materials and Transport: eagle with spread wings above a spur gear with spread wings Medical officers: eagle with spread wings above a five-pointed star with the red cross symbol and crossed staff of Asclepius Medical troops: eagle with spread wings above a five-pointed star with the red cross symbol Alpini Generals: a stylized silver eagle with spread wings, holding a silver laurel wreath, with a central red shield inscribed with the silver letters "RI" (for Repubblica Italiana), all together on a ribbon of red cloth.
The Nappina
Description
The nappina is a small piece of wood, on which a tuft of coloured wool threads is sewn. The piece of wood contains a little hole, in which the feather is sheathed. Also, a thin bent wire juts out from the wood to allow the nappina to be latched onto the left side of the Cappello Alpino. The nappina were first issued to distinguish between the battalions in an Alpini regiment: