Despite his life service to the state, Burzagli was arrested in 1944 after clashing with Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini. Although he was released a short time later, Burzagli was forced to withdraw from public life.
Early years
Burzagli entered the
Italian Naval Academy (Accademia Navale) in
Leghorn (
Livorno in Italian) in 1887, and he was commissioned as an ensign in 1892.
In 1912, Burzagli was assigned command of an Intrepid-class
destroyer. Promoted to commander in 1914, he saw combat in
World War I as commander of a squadron of destroyers, and from May 1916 to March 1917, served on the General Staff of the Italian Navy. In 1917, Captain Burzagli sailed the RN Libia across the
Atlantic Ocean to
New York City.[3] Near the end of the conflict, he was promoted to higher rank.
At the end of the war in 1919, Burzagli was sent to
Albania to command the
Vlore naval base, and played an active role in the suppression of pro-independence Albanian uprising, personally undertaking several reconnaissance flights over rebel-held territory, for which he was awarded the
Bronze Medal of Military Valor.
Burzagli was given command of the
cruiserRN Libia from February 1921 to February 1923, and during this period, the ship circumnavigated the globe.[4] On his return, Burzagli was promoted to the rank of rear admiral; and he and assigned to head the Accademia Navale and the Italian Institute of Marine War.
He wrote a treatise in four volumes, Manual of Navigation (1927).
He left his place at the academy in 1927 to accept the position of Chief of Staff of the Navy, a post he held until 1931.[5][6]
Burzagli was a Technical Advisor in the Italian delegation at the
London Naval Conference 1930 for the reduction of the armaments.[7]
Burzagli was promoted to
Divisional Admiral in 1926, and promoted again to
Vice Admiral in 1928. He was Naval Chief of Staff from 1927 to 1931.[1] He was no longer Naval Chief of Staff in 1932 when Italy announced plans to retire two battleships, twelve cruisers, 25 destroyers, and 12 submarines—in all, 130,000 tons of naval vessels.[8]
In 1933, he was also named a
Senator.[9] In the Senate, he served as a member of the Commission for Examination of Law Conversion (1936–1939), a member of the Commission for Finances (1939–1943), and a member of the Commission for the High Court of Justice (1940–1943).[1]
Later years
Burzagli withdrew from the active service in 1936. After the withdrawal to Montevarchi near his estate of Moncioni, he entered into friction with
Benito Mussolini for his clear opposition to Italy's entrance into the
Axis Powers, and for his subsequent opposition to Italy's entrance into
World War II.
In the spring of 1944, he refused to collaborate with the authorities of the
Italian Social Republic and was arrested. He was released in consideration of his reputation and his advanced age.
He died on 13 September 1944 and was buried in a monumental tomb in the cemetery of
Montevarchi.
Honours
Burzagli received many awards and decorations, including awards from several other countries, such as the
Navy Cross from the
United States, the second-highest award that the nation's military has.
Vitale, Massimo Adolfo. (1959). Vitale, L'Italia in Africa: serie storico-militare. Rome: Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato (Italian State Printing Office).
Wright, Herbert Francis. (1931). Proceedings of the London Naval Conference of 1930 and Supplementary Documents.Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.