Along with Admirals Giuseppe Fioravanzo and Oscar Di Giamberardino, he was considered one of the main "intellectuals" of the Royal Italian Navy during the interwar years.

He became Admiral on 2 June 1934, and from November 6, 1934 to September 25, 1935 he held the position of commander-in-chief of the Naval Department of the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea.

After a short period as vice-president of the Naval High Council, he assumed command in chief of the 2nd Fleet, which he left on February 10, 1938.

In 1927 he wrote to the head of the government, Benito Mussolini, lamenting the uselessness and waste of economic, material and human resources deriving from the "Battleship Policy".

He was promoted to Fleet Admiral in June 1940 and briefly recalled into service in September, being assigned to the Commissione Italiana d'Armistizio con la Francia for a month.