I found this picture in my aunt's house, is there anything you can tell me about my late grandfather? What the uniform and patches give away about who he was and what he did.
The only thing I can confirm with confidence is that the beret insignia corresponds with that of the Paracadutisti, the airborne infantry branch of the Regio Esercito. The shoulder flash potentially indicates that he may have served with the 185th Parachutist Division 'Folgore' [lightning]. The insignia on the collar resembles the sword-and-wing graphic of the airborne troops.
What I would like to ask you, is if it is possible that your late grandfather perhaps served in the early 1950s rather than the Second World War. Several elements of the airborne arm of the Regio Esercito came to form the nucleus of the Italian ground forces in the early 1950s and retained many of the insignias, some of the battle honours, and most of the unit name honorifics (including the Folgore honorific, which is presently still the honorific of an airborne brigade in the modern Italian Army).
At any rate, I would very much like fellow military historians/uniform enthusiasts to confirm these previous statements. Hopefully it's a step towards finding out some more!