Oreste Moricca

Oreste Moricca was a soldier, a fencer, and a teacher. Born in Southern Italy, he lost his father when he was very young and in 1908 moved to Roma with his mother Caterina and brother Umberto to attend the Liceo High School.

From 1913-15 Oreste Moricca studied at the Military Academy and fought bravely in World War I. Crippled by enemy bullets, he was awarded a bronze medal for military valour and several other medals. With the return of peace he returned to his passions: stories and literary studies (he had graduated in 1924 in French literature). He reached the international level as a fencer, winning the 1920 Italian military championship. In 1924, he won gold and bronze medals at the Paris Olympics, and he later participated as a judge at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

During the 1930s Morrica taught military history at the War School in Torino. He was also head of counter-espionage in Sicily and commander of the recruiting centre in Zara, in Dalmatia. With the outbreak of World War II, he was in Greece and in Russia from 1942. Two years later he was General Commander of the Revenue Guard Corps in Salerno, and after 1945 he was President of a Ministerial Commission.