Editing Italian Armed Forces (section)

===Italian Navy===
{{Main article|Italian Navy}}
[[File:Cavour (550).jpg|thumb|Aircraft carrier [[Italian aircraft carrier Cavour (550)|''MM Cavour'']], the [[flagship]] of the [[Italian Navy]]]]
[[File:Naval Ensign of Italy.svg|thumb|Naval ensign of Italy]]

The [[Italian Navy]] ({{langx|it|Marina Militare||Military Navy}}; abbreviated as '''MM''') is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''[[Regia Marina]]'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. {{As of|2014|08}}, the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active personnel, with approximately 184 vessels in service, including minor auxiliary vessels. It is considered a multiregional and a [[blue-water navy]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=he5KL_tWQvMC|title=Navies and Shipbuilding Industries: The Strained Symbiosis|first1=Daniel|last1=Todd|first2=Michael|last2=Lindberg|date=May 14, 1996|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780275953102|access-date=May 14, 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Till|first1=Geoffrey|title=Seapower: A Guide for the Twenty-First Century|date=2 Aug 2004|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=9781135756789|pages=113–120|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CNgIbiDghI4C&q=Seapower%3A%20A%20Guide%20for%20the%20Twenty-First%20Century%202004|access-date=15 December 2015}}</ref><ref name=Coffey>{{cite book|last1=Coffey|first1=Joseph I.|title=The Atlantic Alliance and the Middle East|date=1989|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press|location=United States|isbn=9780822911548|page=89|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RmttAAAAMAAJ&q=The+Atlantic+Alliance+and+the+Middle+East|access-date=30 November 2015}}</ref>

The navy of Italy was created in 1861, following the [[proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy]]. The new navy's baptism of fire came during the [[Third Italian War of Independence]] against the [[Austrian Empire]]. During the [[First World War]], it spent its major efforts in the [[Adriatic Sea]], fighting the [[Austro-Hungarian Navy]]. In the [[Second World War]], it engaged the [[Royal Navy]] in a two-and-a-half-year struggle for the control of the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. After the war, the new ''Marina Militare'', being a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), has taken part in many coalition peacekeeping operations. It is a [[blue-water navy]]. The ''[[Guardia Costiera]]'' (Coast Guard) is a component of the navy.

Today's Italian Navy is a modern navy with ships of every type. The fleet is in continuous evolution, and as of today oceangoing fleet units include: 2 light [[aircraft carrier]]s, 4 [[amphibious assault ship]]s, 3 [[destroyer]]s, 11 [[frigate]]s and 8 [[attack submarine]]s. Patrol and littoral warfare units include: 10 [[patrol boat|offshore patrol vessels]], 10 [[mine countermeasure vessel]]s, 4 coastal [[patrol boat]]s, and a varied fleet of [[auxiliary ship]]s are also in service.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marina.difesa.it/EN/thefleet/Pagine/default.aspx |title=The Fleet – Marina Militare|website=marina.difesa.it|access-date=May 14, 2018}}</ref> The flagship of the fleet is the [[Italian aircraft carrier Cavour|carrier ''Cavour'']].

The [[Ensign (flag)|ensign]] of the Italian Navy is the [[flag of Italy]] bearing the coat of arms of the Italian Navy. The shield's quarters refer to the four Medieval Italian [[Maritime Republics]]:

* 1st quarter: on red, a golden winged lion (the [[lion of St. Mark]]) wielding a sword ([[Republic of Venice]])
* 2nd quarter: on white field, red cross, the [[Saint George's Cross]] ([[Republic of Genoa]])
* 3rd quarter: on blue field, white [[Maltese cross]] ([[Republic of Amalfi]])
* 4th quarter: on red field, white [[Pisan cross]] ([[Republic of Pisa]])

The coat of arms is surmounted by a golden crown, which distinguishes military vessels from those of the merchant navy.