Rampante!
oil on canvas, 19" x 34"

Private collection

The son of a nobleman, Major Francesco Baracca was Italy’s highest scoring ace of World War 1, achieving 34 victories. He entered the service at an early age, serving as an officer in the cavalry before transferring to the aviation section, carrying with him the prancing horse emblem of the cavalry which he would adopt as his own. Baracca was known by his colleagues and adversaries alike as a gentleman pilot. He scored the first Italian air victory of the war, and because of his gallantry he quickly became a national hero of Italy. His 34th and final victory, an Austrian Albatros D.III which he brought down near the Piave River, came just three days prior to his death.

The Legend Continues...

In the years following WW1 a young Italian named Enzo Ferrari decided to form his own race team. After an early success he wrote: "In 1923, when I won the first Savio race held in Ravenna, I met Count Enrico Baracca, the pilot's father, and subsequently his mother, Countess Paolina. One day she said to me, ‘Ferrari, why don't you put my son's prancing horse on your cars? It will bring you luck.' I still have Baracca's photograph with a dedication written by his parents, in which they entrusted the emblem to me. The horse was black and has remained so; I added the canary yellow background because it is Modena's colour." Today the Prancing Horse Logo of Ferrari is known worldwide a as a symbol of precision, performance and elegance.

The Galleries / World War 1 Originals