Ludovico Pollera
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ludovico Pollera (4 June 1870 – 21 January 1953) was an Italian military officer and government official. He served as the Governor of Italian Eritrea from November 1920 to April 1921.
Ludovico Pollera | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Italian Eritrea | |
| In office 20 November 1920 – 14 April 1921 | |
| Preceded by | Camillo De Camillis |
| Succeeded by | Giovanni Cerrina Feroni |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 June 1870 |
| Died | 21 January 1953 (aged 82) |
| Profession | Military officer · government official |
Biography
Pollera was born on 4 June 1870, the brother of military officer and anthropologist Alberto Pollera.[1] He joined the Italian military and in 1895, moved to Italian Eritrea to serve as an officer.[1] Giovanni Masturzi, a colonel in the Italian Army and a friend of Pollera, noted in 1926 that Pollera was "animated by unwavering faith in the secure future of the Colony [and] has dedicated all his intelligent work to it".[2] After initially serving as an military officer, he moved to a civilian role in 1900, where he had "a particularly brilliant career", according to the book Le note del commissario (The Commissioner's notes).[1]
Pollera lived in Agordat, and in 1903, he became the regional commissioner of the province of Barka.[1] He held the rank of captain in the Italian Army reserves until being called to active service in 1912, being assigned to command the Eritrean camel corps.[3] He led company, part of the 5th Ascari Battalion, in war operations in Tripolitania.[1] Pollera remained the commissioner of Barka until 1918.[1] He received the appointment to head of the Directorate of Civil and Political Affairs on 18 June 1918.[1] On 20 November 1920, Pollera was named the new Governor of Italian Eritrea, succeeding Camillo De Camillis.[4] He held this title until 14 April 1921, when he was succeeded by Giovanni Cerrina Feroni.[5]
After his service as governor, Pollera was Secretary General for Civil and Political Affairs of the Colony, the second-highest ranking position in Italian Eritrea at the time.[1] He retired on 11 March 1928 and returned to Italy.[1] Although his brother, Alberto, wrote extensively about life in Eritrea, Pollera only wrote a small number of works about the colony, including a report in 1913 and later several articles after his retirement.[1] He died on 21 January 1953, at the age of 82.[1]
