Fernando Cavallini

Fernando Cavallini was of the same age and a clubmate of Nedo Nadi at Circolo Fides in Livorno. He became friends with Nedo and trained under Nadi’s father Beppe. Because at this club only foil and sabre fencing was trained, Cavallini concentrated on these weapons. He drew attention to himself for the first time when he placed 4th in the Italian foil championships in 1910 at the age of 17. One year later he won a prestigious foil tournament in Roma.

As a member of the “Livorno school” of fencing Cavallini was selected for the 1912 Olympic Games. In the individual foil event, he reached the semi-final which ended in turmoil. The Hungarian jury was accused of favouring their countrymen and disadvantaging other fencers including Cavallini. In an outrage he threw his mask and foil at the jury president and was inevitably disqualified. About one week later, he returned to the arena with the sabre team, which only placed a disappointing fifth.

In 1913 and 1914, Cavallini was rarely seen at tournaments and ended his career as a high level fencer with the outbreak of World War I. Later he devoted himself to teaching.