From Milan, 1886, to Singapore: a short history of the ANC

The Associazione Nazionale Carabinieri is older than most people think. It began in 1886 as a way for Carabinieri in congedo (no longer in active service) to help one another. Here is how it grew, and how it reached Singapore.

1886: a mutual-aid society in Milan

On 1 March 1886, in Milan, Carabinieri in congedo and pensioners founded the Associazione di mutuo soccorso fra congedati e pensionati dei Carabinieri. Its aims were practical: to support members who were ill, to help those out of work find a job, and to honour members who had died. From the start, it was apolitical.

1926 to 1956: one national association

Similar societies grew across Italy. On 25 June 1926 they came together as the Federazione Nazionale del Carabiniere Reale, bringing together 211 societies and more than 17,000 members. In 1928 the Federation was recognised as an ente morale, a public-benefit body. In 1935 it became the Associazione Nazionale dei Carabinieri in congedo, and in 1956 a new statute gave it the name it still has: Associazione Nazionale Carabinieri.

What the ANC does today

Today the ANC brings together Carabinieri in service and in congedo, their families and supporters. Its purposes include camaraderie between members, keeping the memory and traditions of the Arma alive, and moral, cultural, recreational and practical support for members and their families. Many sections also run volunteer groups, and the association publishes the magazine Fiamme d'Argento.

Sections abroad, and the first in Asia

The ANC has sections outside Italy, in cities from London to New York, Buenos Aires and Sydney, where Italian communities keep their links with the Arma. ANC Singapore is the first section in Asia. It is affiliated to the ANC in Rome and follows the same spirit that began in Milan: people who look out for one another.