An irredentist volunteer sporting the nom de guerre ‘Livio Scaglioni’ (1916), he fights with the 6th Alpine Regiment. In April 1917 he is injured in Vallagarina. As a second lieutenant by the end of the war, he follows D’Annunzio to Fiume and is injured in the clashes of 26 December 1920 (‘Bloody Christmas’). In the post-war period, he obtains his pilot’s licence and specialises in civilian flights and in several speed races that, for example, see him racing his aircraft against the ‘fireball’ car piloted by Tazio Nuvolari. Starting in 1940, he serves as captain at the HQ of the Special Air Service (SAS). He crashes in January 1941 near Lampedusa. Gold Medal of Aeronautic Valor.