A pupil of Alberto Acerbo in the riding schools of Pinerolo and Tor di Quinto, Alessandro Alvisi became one of the best international riders of the 1920s, and was one of the few riders to win Olympic medals in jumping and eventing. He won the team jumping bronze medal in 1920 and the eventing team bronze four years later. Between 1921-22 he represented Italy in three Nations Cups, winning in Nice and Roma (twice).
Like many other cavalry officers, Alvisa fought in World War I as a fighter pilot, and was one of the first aviators to make the Napoli-Roma raid and back. He later spent a few years leading up to World War II in France, where he showed the principles of natural horse riding to the French school. After the war he exiled himself to his villa in Capri and did not attend horse shows even as a spectator. Alvisa wrote the book Gli Aforismi e i Paradossi Equestri (Aphorisms and Paradoxes about Riding), which was a fun and lively series of observations on horse riding, which contained an introduction by Gabriele D’Annunzio.
Italy