The Most Famous

FENCERS from Italy

This page contains a list of the greatest Italian Fencers. The pantheon dataset contains 174 Fencers, 24 of which were born in Italy. This makes Italy the birth place of the 2nd most number of Fencers.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Italian Fencers of all time. This list of famous Italian Fencers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Italian Fencers.

1. Nedo Nadi (1894 - 1940)

With an HPI of 65.95, Nedo Nadi is the most famous Italian Fencer. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages on wikipedia.

Nedo Nadi (9 June 1894 – 29 January 1940) was one of the best Italian fencers of all time. He is the only fencer to win a gold medal in each of the three weapons at a single Olympic Games and won the most fencing gold medals ever at a single Games—five. Nadi won six Olympic gold medals in total.

2. Edoardo Mangiarotti (1919 - 2012)

With an HPI of 65.38, Edoardo Mangiarotti is the 2nd most famous Italian Fencer. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Edoardo Mangiarotti (Italian pronunciation: [edoˈardo mandʒaˈrɔtti]; 7 April 1919 – 25 May 2012) was an Italian fencer. He won a total of 39 Olympic titles and World championships, more than any other fencer in the history of the sport. His Olympic medals include one individual gold, five team golds, five silver, and two bronze medals from 1936 to 1960.

3. Aldo Nadi (1899 - 1965)

With an HPI of 61.12, Aldo Nadi is the 3rd most famous Italian Fencer. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Aldo Nadi (29 April 1899 – 10 November 1965) was one of the greatest Italian fencers of all time.

4. Dario Mangiarotti (1915 - 2010)

With an HPI of 58.39, Dario Mangiarotti is the 4th most famous Italian Fencer. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Dario Mangiarotti (18 December 1915 – 9 April 2010) was an Italian fencer who competed at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics and medaled in seven World Championships. He was born in Milan, the son of Giuseppe Mangiarotti, a fencer at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. He was also the brother of Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italy's most successful Olympian and the winner of more Olympic and World titles than any fencer in history, and Mario Mangiarotti, who was also a fencer.

5. Franco Riccardi (1905 - 1968)

With an HPI of 58.19, Franco Riccardi is the 5th most famous Italian Fencer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Franco Riccardi (June 13, 1905 – May 24, 1968) was one of the greatest Italian fencer and Olympic champion in épée competition.

6. Gianluigi Saccaro (1938 - )

With an HPI of 56.16, Gianluigi Saccaro is the 6th most famous Italian Fencer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Gianluigi Saccaro (29 December 1938 – 17 February 2021) was an Italian fencer. Saccaro won a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics, a silver at the 1964 Games and a bronze at the 1968 Games. He also competed at the 1972 Olympics, both individually and with the Italian team, but failed to reach the finals.

7. Valentina Vezzali (1974 - )

With an HPI of 53.37, Valentina Vezzali is the 7th most famous Italian Fencer. Her biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Maria Valentina Vezzali (Italian pronunciation: [valenˈtiːna vetˈtsaːli]; born 14 February 1974) is an Italian politician and retired fencer. As a fencer, Vezzali won six Olympic gold medals and was a 16-time World Champion in foil. She is one of only five athletes in the history of the Summer Olympic Games to have won five medals in the same individual event. In 2013, Vezzali became a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies as part of the Civic Choice party. In 2021, she became Italy's cabinet undersecretary in charge of sports.

8. Giovanna Trillini (1970 - )

With an HPI of 50.07, Giovanna Trillini is the 8th most famous Italian Fencer. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Giovanna Trillini (born 17 May 1970 in Iesi) is an Italian foil fencer. She is a 4-time Olympic champion (3 times in the team event, 1 time individual) and she won an additional silver and two bronze medals in individual Olympic competitions.

9. Andrea Borella (1961 - )

With an HPI of 49.24, Andrea Borella is the 9th most famous Italian Fencer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Andrea Borella (born 23 June 1961) is an Italian fencer. His team won a gold medal in the team foil event at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Borella won European Championships in 1981 and 1983, as well as three World Cups. He is married to Francesca Bortolozzi, who was also an Olympic fencing champion for Italy.

10. Sandro Cuomo (1962 - )

With an HPI of 48.24, Sandro Cuomo is the 10th most famous Italian Fencer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Sandro Cuomo (born 21 October 1962) is an Italian épée fencer. He won a team gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics and a team bronze at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He is also three-time team world champion. He is director of épée at the Italian Fencing Federation.

People

Pantheon has 24 people classified as fencers born between 1894 and 1992. Of these 24, 19 (79.17%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living fencers include Gianluigi Saccaro, Valentina Vezzali, and Giovanna Trillini. The most famous deceased fencers include Nedo Nadi, Edoardo Mangiarotti, and Aldo Nadi. As of October 2020, 3 new fencers have been added to Pantheon including Franco Riccardi, Gianluigi Saccaro, and Andrea Borella.