[1][2] The division's lineage begins with the Brigade "Basilicata" established in Naples on 1 November 1884 with the 91st and 92nd infantry regiments.

The brigade was the infantry component of the 1st Territorial Division of Turin, which also included the 5th Artillery Regiment.

On 24 June 1940, just before the armistice, the Division attacked the Ouvrage Pas du Roc fort in the Alpine Line.

On 23 November 1941 the Superga was ordered to reorganize as an auto-transportable division of the North-African type for the planned invasion of Malta scheduled for summer 1942.

From late January 1943 until 4 February 1943 it repelled an Anglo-American assault in the Oued el Koukat depression.