Born in Dronero, Cuneo province, on 11 May 1886, Lombardi entered the Italian Naval Academy of Livorno in 1905 and graduated three years later with the rank of ensign.

With the rank of sub-lieutenant, he took part in the Italo-Turkish war, distinguishing himself in Tripoli, where he fought in a landing company of the battleship Sicilia, receiving a Silver Medal of Military Valor.

For about a year, he headed the intelligence service of Regia Marina (Servizio Informazioni Segrete, SIS); he was then placed in command of the 8th Naval Division, participating in several combat missions in the Mediterranean.

In this role, between 13 and 14 September 1942, he directed the Italian-German resistance to a British assault aimed at temporarily occupying Tobruk, known as Operation Agreement; the forces under his command repulsed all attacks by land and by sea, sealing the complete failure of "Agreement" and inflicting on the attackers almost 1,400 casualties at a cost of 66 killed and wounded.

[1] After 8 September 1943 armistice, while the German forces moved to occupy Patras and the surrounding area, Lombardi ordered the departure of all vessels in the ports under his jurisdiction, allowing nearly all of them to safely reach Italy; then, faced with the choice of collaborating with the Germans and joining the Republic of Salò, he refused any collaboration, along with all his subordinates.