2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna"

2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna"
2° Reggimento "Granatieri di Sardegna"
Regimental coat of arms
Active	13 July 1744 — 10 Sept. 1943 15 May 1944 — 31 Aug 1944 1 Oct. 1975 — 29 Oct. 2002 1 Sept. 2022 — today
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Part of	Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna"
Garrison/HQ	Spoleto
Motto(s)	"A me le Guardie!"
Anniversaries	18 April 1659 - Founding of the Granatieri speciality
Decorations	1x Military Order of Italy 1x Gold Medal of Military Valor 3x Silver Medals of Military Valor 1x Bronze Medal of Military Valor 1x Bronze Medal of Army Valor[1]
Insignia
Granatieri gorget patches

The 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" (Italian: 2° Reggimento "Granatieri di Sardegna") is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Spoleto in Umbria. The regiment is part of the army's infantry arm's Granatieri (Grenadiers) speciality and assigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna". Formed in 1744 the regiment is the second-most senior regiment in the Italian Army's infantry order of precedence. Together with its sister the regiment, the 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna", the regiment is the guard regiment of Rome.^[2][1][3]

The regiment was formed in 1744 on the island of Sardinia for service in the War of the Austrian Succession. In 1798 revolutionary France occupied Piedmont and the regiment was the only one not press-ganged into French service as the regiment was based in Sardinia. In 1814 Napoleon abdicated and the King of Sardinia returned from Sardinia to Turin. In 1831 the regiment was paired with the 1st Grenadiers Regiment to form the Guards Brigade. The regiment then participated in all three Italian Wars of Independence.^[1][4]

During World War I the regiment fought on the Italian front, where it fought to annihilation in May 1916 on the Monte Cengio. For their defense of Monte Cengio the regiment and its sister regiment, the 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna", were both awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valor. During World War II the regiment was assigned to the 21st Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna", with which it served in occupied Yugoslavia as occupation force. Recalled to Rome in late 1942 the division fought invading German forces after the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943. After a last stand at Porta San Paolo on 10 September the regiment and division were disbanded by German forces.^[1][5]

In 1975 the regiment was reformed as a battalion sized mechanized unit. In 1992 the regiment was reformed and remained active until 2002. After the regiment was disbanded some of its companies moved to Spoleto integrated into the 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna". In 2017 these companies formed the 2nd Grenadiers Battalion "Cengio", which in 2022 became the basis to reform the regiment.^[1] The regiment's anniversary falls, as for all grenadiers units, on 18 April 1659, the day the Granatieri speciality was founded.^[2][1]