Museo dell'Arma di Cavalleria

The Museum of the Cavalry Arm in Reggio Emilia preserves uniforms, weapons, equipment, photographs and documents associated with Italy's mounted regiments. Run by the Reggio Emilia section of the National Cavalry Arm Association, it presents the history of the Italian cavalry from the late nineteenth century through 1945.

Why it matters

The collection documents a military branch whose traditions and material culture changed as mounted units disappeared from modern warfare. Its displays combine objects with the institutional memory preserved by the National Cavalry Arm Association, whose local section was founded in 1926.

What to notice

More than sixty-five mannequins display cavalry uniforms, from formal dress to grey-green field clothing and colonial-era kit. The collection includes a mounted Second World War cavalryman with equipment, as well as sabres, lances, headgear, saddlery and documents. A hall of scale models depicts notable battles and places individual objects in the context of mounted formations. The historic room also recounts the stories of units such as the Cavalleggeri di Alessandria and Lancieri di Vittorio Emanuele II.

Context and history

The museum is housed on the ground floor of Reggio Emilia's former Taddei barracks. It is maintained by the local section of the Associazione Nazionale Arma di Cavalleria, a national association founded in Milan in 1921 and recognised by the Ministry of Defence. Its displays focus particularly on Italian cavalry from the late 1800s to the end of the Second World War.