Paolo Thaon di Revel, seit 1923 Duca del Mare - Geschenkdolch in Form eines römischen Kurzschwertes der italienischen Frauen von Rio de Janeiro 1925.
The hilt made of steel with fluting. The crossguard made of gold in the form of an ancient galley. Antiqued blade with decorative etching and the inscription (obverse): “A PAOLO THAON DI REVEL” and reverse: “12 X 1925 / A. III. E.F.” as well as “LE DONNE ITALIANE DI RIO DE JANEIRO DONANO ORGOGLIOSE PERCHE DA UN MARE ALL' ALTRO SIA SIMBOLO DI VALORE ETERNO”.
Length: 62.5 cm.
Important and impressive presentation dagger of high artistic craftsmanship quality to the most famous Italian admiral of the 20th century.
Paolo Thaon di Revel, since 1923 Duca del Mare (* June 10, 1859 in Turin; † March 24, 1948 in Rome), was an Italian Grand Admiral and Senator. He descended from the noble family Thaon di Revel, which produced numerous high-ranking officers over time.
Paolo Thaon di Revel, son of the politician Ottavio Thaon di Revel, attended the naval officer schools in Naples and Genoa and became a Lieutenant at Sea in 1877. From 1879 to 1882 he circumnavigated the world aboard the frigate Garibaldi. From 1896 to 1900 he served as Lieutenant Commander and Commander as adjutant to King Umberto I. In 1911 he commanded a naval squadron that bombarded Tripoli, Beirut and the Dardanelles in the Italo-Turkish War. From 1913 to 1915, as Chief of Naval Staff, he strengthened the torpedo boat and submarine forces and built up the naval aviation service. In October 1915 he resigned as Chief of Naval Staff due to disagreements over naval warfare strategy and became Commander of the naval forces stationed in Venice and the local coastal sector command. In February 1917 he again became Chief of Naval Staff and simultaneously Fleet Commander, thereby replacing Luigi Amedeo di Savoia-Aosta, duca degli Abruzzi. In the same month Thaon di Revel was nominated Senator.
In World War I, Thaon di Revel wanted to seek decisive action with the battle fleet only when clear superiority was given. Since the Austrians behaved similarly, no major naval battles occurred in the Adriatic. Thaon di Revel placed great value on small torpedo boats and submarines, which is why he gave preference to these units in operations. With these and similar means, officers such as Luigi Rizzo and others sank three battleships. The remaining fleet participated together with the allied French and British in the blockade in the southern Adriatic. In November 1918 Thaon di Revel initiated a large-scale amphibious operation, with which several strategically important ports and islands in Dalmatia were temporarily occupied to secure Italy's control over the Adriatic against its allied rivals. Vis-à-vis France and the United Kingdom he defended Italian interests uncompromisingly. He was also demanding and harsh toward his subordinate officers.
In November 1919 Thaon di Revel relinquished his post as Chief of Naval Staff and the Fleet and assumed the post of Inspector General of the Navy until May 1920. Thereafter he headed the so-called Admiral's Committee, an advisory body. In 1921 Thaon di Revel represented the Italian Navy at the Washington Naval Conference. In October 1922 he became Minister of the Navy in Mussolini's cabinet. In May 1925 Thaon di Revel resigned from his ministerial post because he opposed the establishment of the new General Staff of the Armed Forces, whose leadership Pietro Badoglio and other army officers were to assume.
For war merits Paolo Thaon di Revel received from King Victor Emmanuel III on May 24, 1923 the title of Duca del Mare (“Duke of the Sea”), on November 4, 1924 he was promoted to Grand Admiral. Among his decorations was the Collar of the Order of the Annunziata.
Thaon di Revel had been a member of the Società Geografica Italiana since 1897, which he chaired from 1921 to 1923. Since 1919 he was also an honorary member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. He was as a Freemason a member (33rd degree) of the lodge Gran Loggia d'Italia degli Alam, which had left the Grande Oriente d'Italia in 1908. In 1936 Thaon di Revel largely withdrew from politics and only continued to serve as an advisor at the King's court. From there the Grand Admiral made a contribution to the deposition of Mussolini on July 25, 1943. From July 28, 1943 to July 20, 1944 Thaon di Revel was President of the Senate.
Thaon di Revel died in 1948 in Rome. His tomb is located in the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Rome, next to which the Marshal of Italy Armando Diaz is buried.
After Paolo Thaon di Revel, the Thaon di Revel-class and its lead ship were named in 2019, with which the Italian Navy receives a multi-purpose ship type with a broad operational spectrum.
Important dagger from the possession of this distinguished Grand Admiral, one of the most important personalities in Italian military history of the 20th century.