Francesco Pietrasanta

Francesco Pietrasanta was a career officer as a lieutenant in the Bersaglieri, an Italian infantry corps. He achieved his first top results as a fencer before the turn of the century placing fifth in the Alessandria sabre tournament in 1898. Although equally skillful with the épée and the sabre, he was most successful with the latter: in 1904, he finished second in the Arms Club tournament in Milano (Milan) and in 1906, he won the first ever Italian sabre championship. Despite these achievements, he was only a reserve for the Italian fencing team at the 1908 Olympics in London.

Pietrasanta continued to produce good results but mostly won tournaments reserved for military personnel. In 1909, he finished third in the Italian Championship with the sabre and fifth with the foil. One year later, he won the Italian military sabre title and placed third in the Italian Championships with the foil. Absorbed by his military duties, he missed the major tournaments in 1911. At the Stockholm Olympics in 1912, he competed at the Games for the first time although already 43-years-old, where he competed in the individual events with foil and sabre but was eliminated in the second round in both events. In the Official Report he was also listed as a judge in fencing.

At the 1913 Italian Championships, Pietrasanta earned his last podium, winning bronze in the sabre tournaments and finished fifth in foil. Some occasional results are reported from military tournaments in 1914. But World War I finally put an end to his fencing career.