Translation - Italian Fencing in the Army by Jacopo Gelli

One of Radaelli's most ardent defenders, Jacopo Gelli, wrote many articles throughout his career in defence of Radaellian principles. Here is one such article from 1890 entitled La scherma italiana nell'esercito ('Italian fencing in the army'), first published in the Florentine newspaper Esercito e Armata. The article was published over 6 issues, the first being on the 30th March, and the last on the 28th April.

***Click here to read the full translation***

Unlike Resurrectio, this article is not in response to anyone in particular, but more his attempt to take a critical stance against Parise's method being taught to those who may have to use their sabre in combat, namely the cavalry. He deems it flawed in almost every way, and not conducive to making cavalrymen 'masters of their weapon', as the Radaelli method supposedly does. He takes particular issue with a (paraphrased) quote from Parise's treatise saying that 'force is the prime enemy of fencing', which he believes to be a detrimental attitude for the cavalryman.

In classic Gelli fashion, he reaches a fervent climax towards the end where he describes the spectacle of the 1889 national fencing tournament in Rome, commenting on the ridiculousness of seeing all the promising young fencers having to bind the weapon to their hand in the Neapolitan style just to be able to use it:

Do you not think that in war or on the ground in a fight (there are many cases in life!), if you do not have the hand ready to grip the weapon—to control it, to guide it powerfully in offence and in defence—you will succumb?!…
Do you not think?…Do you not feel your cheeks flush with embarrassment when, in the presence of an…indulgent audience, you ask the opponent for time to secure the sabre to your hand?!…Do you not blush?!…I feel sorry for you poor young men, but I do not condemn you!

Another point of interest is Gelli mentioning an article from an 1889 issue of the magazine Lo Sport Illustrato which talks of an official commission repudiating Parise's sabre method and endorsing Radaelli's. I hope to acquire this article and present it to you in the near future.

Thanks to Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze for providing me with the scans of the article.