[Illustration: _Photo. Harris & Ewing, Washington, D. C._ Italian Army. Officers’ service uniform] [Illustration: Italian Navy, Officers’ sleeve decorations indicating rank 1. Admiral 2. Vice Admiral 3. Rear Admiral 4. Captain 5. Commander 6. Lieutenant Commander 7. Lieutenant 8. Sub Lieutenant 9. Midshipman] The white undress uniform is of the same description as the blue undress except that the material is white cotton or linen duck. The rank of officers in the Italian Navy is indicated by gold braid stripes around the sleeves above the cuffs as shown in the accompanying illustration. The corps or branch of the service to which an officer belongs is indicated as follows:— Line officers By the “curl” in the upper rank stripe. Engineer officers By stripes of black velvet between the rank stripes. Naval Constructors By stripes of crimson velvet between the rank stripes. Medical officers By stripes of light blue cloth between the rank stripes. Paymasters By stripes of red cloth between the rank stripes. Officers of the Staff Corps do not have the “curl” in the upper rank stripe. The insignia on the front of the cap consist of an oval medallion surrounded by a gold wreath and surmounted by the Royal Crown of Italy in gold on a blue ground. The medallion in the center shows the corps or branch of the service, Line officers having a gold foul anchor on a light blue ground, Engineer officers a gold three-bladed propeller on a black ground. Medical officers a red Geneva cross on a white ground, Naval Constructors a gold helmet on a red ground, and Paymasters a gold star on a red ground. The band of the cap is of the distinctive color of the corps or branch of the officer and has sewn upon it gold stripes indicating the rank of the wearer. On the right side of the cocked hat there is a cockade of red, white and green silk. Chief Warrant officers wear uniforms similar to the commissioned officers’ uniforms with one gold stripe broken by diagonal blocks of blue silk with the corps mark above it on the cuffs. Their cap has a black mohair braid band and insignia on the front like those of commissioned officers except that the Royal crown is omitted. Warrant officers wear the same uniform as Chief Warrant officers except that the stripe of gold braid on the sleeve is omitted and the corps insignia alone are worn on the sleeves above the elbow. Enlisted men wear uniforms of dark blue cloth or white duck depending upon the temperature, these uniforms being similar in general design to those of the United States Navy. The insignia of rank for Petty officers are as follows:—