o Modena, where it was reassembled in the courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale, which was thus renamed the "Courtyard of the Military Academy of Turin."
The Modena location of this academy can trace its roots back to the "Academy and Conference of Military Architecture" founded by the duke Francesco III d'Este in 1756. In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte expanded the Academy's curriculum to include a military engineering school and artillery school, and it trained all Army officers in Italy until 1814. Following the Restoration, the Duke Francis IV of Habsburg-Este founded another expansion, the Military Academy of Nobility, which was later opened to young people without noble titles. On the initiative of General Manfredo Fanti, in 1859 a Central Military School was founded, which became the Military School of Infantry in 1860, on the eve of the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
Further schools were added and recombined in later years: the Military Infantry and Cavalry in 1865 and the Military Academy of Artillery and Engineers in the early 1900s, based on the original school designed by Napoleon. In 1923, the two schools were reorganized as the Military Academy of Infantry and Cavalry (Modena) and the Military Academy of Artillery and Engineers (Torino), acquiring the title of Royal Academies in 1928.
Since 1937 the Military Academy of Modena has also hosted courses for the training of officers of the Carabinieri, from 1933 to 1936 were also hosted the 37th and 38th Officer's Course of the Royal Guard. In 1943, the two institutions were suspended, which resumed their function in May 1944 at the barracks of Pico Lecce as a Special Commando Royal Military Academy. After the end of the war and the fall of the monarchy, the Military Academy in Modena (1947) became unified.
Among the illustrious alumni of the Academy are 31 ministers, 6 Prime Ministers, and 33 senators.
To commemorate the founding of the Military Academy of Modena, the Post Office of Rome issued a .41 stamp featuring the Academy flag and crest in 1999.
The Academy is led by a Division General and the Command Office run by his deputy, a Brigadier General. There are two branches within the Academy: the Academic Department and the Student Regiment.
The Academic Department is run by a Colonel who has a secretariat and four departments under him, which are responsible for the didactic activity of the institute. The departments are:
- Department of university studies and relations: responsible for the organization of lessons and university activities and relations with the Universities of Modena and Reggio Emilia as well as other universities.
- Department of physical education: responsible for the psycho-physical preparation of the students and managing the sports events
- Department of didactics and quality control: specialized in internal quality control of studies.
- Department of foreign languages: responsible for teaching foreign languages
The Student Regiment, also led by a Colonel, has three battalions of students, a majority section, a training section and a Command Office. The Command Office and the majority section guarantee the good functioning of the department, while the other sections focus on training activities. The three battalions are divided as such: 1st Battalion |
- 1st Company Student Officers
- 2nd Company Student Officers
- 3rd Company Student Officers
| Italian Army |- | 2nd Battalion |
- 5th Company Student Officers
- 6th Company Student Officers
- 7th Company Student Officers
| Italian Army |- | 3rd Battalion |
- 4th Company Student Officers
- 8th Company Student Officers
| Carabinieri |}
Training and studies
The Military Academy is a demanding training course for young people, and the training falls into various subcultural, military and sports-related elements. The courses of study are of various types and duration:
- The various weapons, transport, administrative commands, and materials involved in military operations, a two-year course that continues for another three years at the School of Application of Turin for more advanced offi