Italian naval professionalism beyond the stereotype

The caricature of Italian sailors as cowards obscures an aggressive, professional Regia Marina whose ships fought hard. Political and senior-leadership constraints complicated its operations in World War II. World War I helped the service accumulate experience that Germany's navy could not preserve in the same way after Versailles. Italy still faced constraints under the Washington and London naval treaties, but it did not undergo the same institutional rupture. Fleet performance, personnel quality, and political command need to be assessed separately rather than reduced to a national stereotype.