Happy Birthday, Alpini! 154 Years Since 15 October 1872

15 OCTOBER 1872 — 15 OCTOBER 2026

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALPINI!

154 years of courage, sacrifice, brotherhood and love for Italy.

Italian Alpine troops during the First World War, historical photograph from 1915 — Italian Alpine troops during the Great War, 1915. Source: Agence Rol / Bibliothèque nationale de France, via Wikimedia Commons — Public Domain Mark.

There are birthdays that are not measured only in years. They are measured in lives, in memories, in sacrifices and in everything that is handed down from one generation to the next.

Today, 15 October 2026, the Alpini turn 154.

One hundred and fifty-four years since that distant 15 October 1872, when a decree signed by Victor Emmanuel II brought into being the first fifteen Alpine companies. A small core of soldiers destined for the defence of the Italian mountains, which would become one of the most recognisable symbols of our national history.

Since then the borders, the uniforms and the generations have changed, and even the way war is waged. But one thing has remained: that particular spirit which makes the hat with the feather much more than a simple military headdress.

THE ORIGINS

15 October 1872: the Alpini are born

Royal Decree no. 1056, signed in Naples, established the first fifteen Alpine companies. The project, inspired by the studies of Captain Giuseppe Domenico Perrucchetti and supported by the Minister of War Cesare Ricotti Magnani, met a precise need: to entrust the defence of the mountain frontiers to men who knew the mountains and were accustomed to their harshness.

It was the beginning of a story destined to span three centuries.

The mountains as a school of life

The mountains soon teach you that no one gets far alone. That the stride of the strongest must learn to adapt to that of a companion in difficulty. That an outstretched hand, a shared rope or a piece of bread can make all the difference.

The Alpini have carried this lesson into the barracks, onto the paths, into the villages and, in the most terrible moments of our history, onto the battlefronts.

From the trenches of the Great War to the campaigns of the Second World War, their path was also marked by immense suffering, losses, long separations and homecomings that never happened. To remember means to honour those who did not return, without forgetting the human cost of war and the value of peace.

From war to solidarity

The history of the Alpini, however, did not stop on the battlefields.

After the war, the Associazione Nazionale Alpini continued to safeguard the esprit de corps, turning it every day into practical service: relief for populations struck by disasters, civil protection, charity fundraising, assistance, initiatives for local communities and care for memory.

From the 1976 Friuli earthquake to the many more recent emergencies, the “black feathers” have shown that being Alpini also means being there when someone is in need.

In Salce, a story that continues

Here too, in our land of Belluno, the Alpini hat tells of much more than a sense of belonging.

It tells of the people who built our Group and helped it grow. It tells of the meetings, the celebrations, the anniversaries, the friendships, the voluntary work and above all those faces that we find today in old photographs and in the pages of our newsletter Col Maòr.

There are stories kept in family albums, in the tales of the elderly, in photographs of the barracks and in the words of those who shared military service. Small fragments of life which, put together, form the great story of a community.

This is also why the Gruppo Alpini Salce is carrying forward the MEMORIA project: to give a name to memories, a face to people and a home to testimonies that must not be lost.

Because a community that safeguards its own history is also better able to look to the future.

The hat passed down from generation to generation

Once, almost every family had a father, a grandfather, an uncle or a brother who had served in the Alpini. National service, the barracks, comrades-in-arms and reunions were part of the everyday story of our homes.

Today many things have changed. But there remains the opportunity, and above all the responsibility, to pass on to young people the best of what that experience taught us: respect, solidarity, willingness to help, a sense of community.

And so the black feather lives on, not only in memories, but in the actions of those who choose to lend a hand.

1872 — 2026

154 years. Millions of stories.
One great family.