Alessandro Rinaldi (died 1917) was an Italian soldier who served as a Major in the Royal Italian Army on the Italian front of World War I. Rinaldi was close friends with fellow ambulance driver Frederic Henry, and he was a known atheist and womanizer; it was through the womanizing Henry that he met the British nurse Catherine Barkley, whom Rinaldi had initially fallen in love with, though stymied by her uncooperative attitude. Rinaldi later fell ill from syphilis, and, during the retreat from the Battle of Caporetto, he was caught expressing defeatist sentiments, leading to the Carabinieri's "battle police" taking Rinaldi away for summary execution by firing squad.
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Rinaldi's execution