To your question about why there are two different uniforms: all militaries generally have different uniforms for different settings. The uniform in the first photo looks like a 'service' uniform — an everyday, non-combat uniform. The second is clearly a 'dress' uniform, worn in more official or ceremonial contexts.

My best guess — and I'll freely admit I'm not an expert on Italian military uniforms, but I do love this kind of photographic detective work — is that he was a brigadier-general in the Italian army.

That cap badge in the first image — an eagle holding a baton, with a crown and Savoy cross — appears to have been worn only by general officers (see for example this photo of senior Italian general, Ugo Cavallero.) It appears that officers below general rank normally wore regimental or branch insignia on their caps. The Italian navy and air force had different, distinctive cap badges, as did the Carabinieri.

The cuff devices in both photos, with the patterned braid and single solid bar above, look similar to the brigadier-general example on p.59 of this 1943 American military 'recognition guide'. You can also see an example of the cap insignia there. There are subtle differences in both the cuff and cap devices pictured there, but that could conceivably be explained by a 10+ year gap between your photos and that document's publication.

Looking at his epaulettes in the second photo: it's hard to make out, but I think it's the same insignia as the cap badge. There don't appear to be any stars on the shoulder board, which also lines up with my brigadier-general guess: a brigadier-general would have no stars, a major-general would have one star, a lieutenant-general two, and so on.

I don't have much insight to offer on the medals visible in the second photo, but a couple of guesses:

• The one on the far right could be the War Cross for Military Valour
• The one on the far left could be the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus

I thought the one worn at his throat could be the Military Order of Savoy, but on closer inspection it looks like the cross is the wrong shape. I wondered if it might be the Order of the Roman Eagle, but that's a 1940s-era medal, so wouldn't line up if the photo is from 1930,

I'm also curious about his collar insignia in the second photo, but I can't make them out clearly.