The two Italian police services – Carabinieri and Polizia di Stato – differ in uniforms and vehicle colors.
On July 13, 1814, the famous Italian Carabinieri were founded. These are units for the protection of public order and peace, similar to the police. However, unlike the police, the Italian Carabinieri are subordinate to the Ministry of Defense, not the Ministry of the Interior. The Republic of Italy, in addition to Carabiniere, also has a regular police force, called Polizia di Stato. The two services differ in uniforms and vehicle colors – Carabinieri have dark blue (almost black) uniforms with red and silver details, while police officers have blue uniforms and light blue vehicles.
Interestingly, the Carabinieri are officially part of the Italian Armed Forces (Italian: Forze Armate Italiane). The Carabinieri also function as the Italian military police, but they are also in charge of civilians (the so-called gendarmerie system). In addition, the Carabinieri participate in world battlefields, similar to other military units. Interestingly, Carabiniera has over 100,000 in Italy – even more than ordinary police officers.
The Carabinieri were established as a unit of the Kingdom of Sardinia, i.e. Piedmont (this was well before Italy was united into one state). The Carabinieri have military-like ranks, with the highest position being held by the Comandante generale dell’Arma dei Carabinieri. The top five ranks are generals, followed by senior and junior officers. Interesting are the non-commissioned officer ranks in the Carabinieri, which sound very impressive: e.g., marshal (tal. Maresciallo) and brigadier (tal. Brigadiere).
