Aldo Nadi

Italian fencer

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 1, 2026

Quick Summary

Aldo Nadi was an Italian fencer, renowned alongside his brother Nedo as one of the sport's greatest talents. Both brothers were trained by their father, Giuseppe Nadi, a master fencer, in foil and sabre, though they secretly learned the épée, which their father forbade.12

At the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Aldo and Nedo led Italy to win all three team fencing events. Nedo secured individual gold medals in foil and sabre, while Aldo earned a silver in sabre. Nedo's five gold medals at these Games set a record. After their Olympic success, the brothers turned professional. Aldo later moved to Hollywood, where he became a fencing instructor and choreographer for the film industry, and authored the book On Fencing.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Nadi brothers
…foil and sabre events, and Aldo won the silver medal in the sabre competition.
Read More
…foil and sabre events, and Aldo won the silver medal in the sabre competition.
Read More

Lucien Gaudin
…against the great Italian fencer Aldo Nadi, who had defeated him the previous year. Gaudin, who claimed to have been injured before the first match, won the rematch 20 to 11.
Read More
…against the great Italian fencer Aldo Nadi, who had defeated him the previous year. Gaudin, who claimed to have been injured before the first match, won the rematch 20 to 11.
Read More

William Gaugler
…of the great Italian fencer Aldo Nadi. In 1979, Gaugler established a fencing master’s training program at San José State University in California, where he also taught as a member of the archaeology department. By 1988, the fencing program had become the first internationally recognized master developmental course in the…
Read More
…of the great Italian fencer Aldo Nadi. In 1979, Gaugler established a fencing master’s training program at San José State University in California, where he also taught as a member of the archaeology department. By 1988, the fencing program had become the first internationally recognized master developmental course in the…
Read More