Antonio SPALLINO

Antonio Spallino was considered one of the best Italian fencers of the 1950s. After winning the Italian individual épèe title and the World team title in 1949 he switched to the foil in 1950, with which he won three Olympic medals and five team medals at the World Championships between 1953-58, with golds in 1954-55.

After retiring from sports competition, Spallino worked as a lawyer along with a political career, similar to his father, Lorenzo, who was a senator and twice an Italian minister. Antonio Spallino was mayor of Como from 1970-85 with the Christian Democrats party. In 1988 he was elected World President of Panathlon International and two years later he became President of Gazzetta srl, the proprietary company of the well-known Italian sporting newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.