Luisito CAMPANELLA

Luigi Campanella was born in the last week of the World War I and represented Italy in the Greco-Roman competition at the 1948 London Olympics, finishing fifth in the featherweight division. Towards the end of World War II, Campanella played an important part in the liberation of the Liguria region, and earned the nickname "Campione".

He learned his wrestling skills at the Cristoforo Colombo club of Genoa, under coach Luigi Cardinali, who was also the Italian coach at the London Olympics. Campanella's training partners included fellow Olympians Gerolamo Quaglia, Alberto Molfino and Garibaldo Nizzola. Campanella donated his 1948 Olympic blazer, and all his medals, to the Liguria region of the Italian Olympic Committee.