A career officer, in 1912 he participated in the Italo-Turkish War with the rank of lieutenant, receiving a Bronze Medal of Military Valour for the occupation of Sidi Said in Libya.

[1][2] At the outbreak of World War II he became commander of the 2nd Alpine Group in the Battle of the Western Alps.

For his part in the battles of the Mareth Line and Wadi Akarit he was awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valour.

[3][4] After the Armistice of Cassibile he was released, along with Giovanni Messe and Taddeo Orlando, to serve the new Allied-aligned Badoglio Government.

He remained in that position until 10 February 1945, when he was appointed military commander of Sicily with headquarters in Palermo, a post he held until 1946.