Prince Adalberto, Duke of Bergamo


Prince Adalberto of Savoy, Duke of Bergamo, was an Italian prince of the House of Savoy.

Early life

Born in Turin, Prince Adalberto was the fourth son of Prince Tommaso, Duke of Genoa, and his wife, Princess Isabella of Bavaria. On 22 September 1904, he was given the title Duke of Bergamo.

Military career

Prince Adalberto pursued a career in the Royal Italian Army, achieving the rank of General. He fought in the First World War at Montello in October 1917 and in Vallagarina in February 1918. In 1936, he commanded the Italian 24th Infantry Division Gran Sasso during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and later the 58th Infantry Division Legnano.
When Italy joined World War II, he became commander of the Italian 8th Army, and later in 1943 of the 7th Army. Benito Mussolini exploited Prince Adalberto's secret homosexuality to ensure his loyalty, as well as the loyalty of other LGBT members of the House of Savoy, to the Fascist Party.

Later life

After the war, he lived quietly and mostly anonymously and settled in a villa on the property of his friend, Gertrud Kiefer von Raffler, where he died in 1982.

Ancestry