Original WWII Italian 67th Bersaglieri Regiment Infantry Officer Dress Hat with Feather Plume

Original Item: Only One Available. Pressed felt and oilcloth construction with leather edging around the brim. A pair of metal ventilation grommets are to each side of the crown. 67th Bersaglieri Regiment Italian Brass badge with circular ribbon to the background. Gorgeous large black capercaillie feather plume complete and included. The unlined interior is roughly 58cm with a beautiful leather sweatband.

We couldn’t find much information on the 67th Bersaglieri, making for a good research project. This is an excellent condition dress hat that comes ready for research and display!

The Bersaglieri are a corps of the Italian Army originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Army of the Kingdom of Sardinia, later to become the Royal Italian Army. They have always been a high-mobility light infantry unit, and can still be recognized by the distinctive wide brimmed hat that they wear (only in dress uniform in modern times), decorated with black capercaillie feathers. The feathers are usually applied to their combat helmets. Another distinctive trait of the Bersaglieri is the fast jog pace they keep on parades, instead of marching. Italy began the Second World War with 12 Bersaglieri regiments of three battalions each. Over the preceding years the Army had resisted suggestions to dilute their quality, and recruits continued to be of above-average size and stamina, endured intense physical training and had to qualify as marksmen.