Mario Maddalena, born in Rovereto on September 28, 1899, volunteered for military service, lying about his age, on July 24, 1916. As a Trentino irredentist, born a subject of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he adopted the battle name Mario Ferrario. He was assigned to the 6th Alpine Regiment stationed in Verona and, after about a year, became a lieutenant in the Val Natisone battalion of the 8th Alpine Regiment. During the days of Caporetto, Maddalena found himself in the trenches in the Fassa Alps, where he managed to withdraw his unit to the Grappa area where he requested to be sent to an Arditi unit. Maddalena was given command of the 2nd company of the XXIX Arditi Battalion and, on July 29, 1918, took part in the action to conquer Quota 703 in Val d'Adige. The action on August 3, victorious for the Italians, ended tragically. Surrounded by enemy troops, Mario, to avoid falling prisoner and risking being recognized and hanged like Cesare Battisti and Fabio Filzi, took his own life. Posthumously awarded the Silver Medal for Military Valor with the following motivation: "Commander of two machine gun sections in an assault company, during the preparation of an offensive action, carried out daring reconnaissance missions right under enemy sentries, bringing back useful and valuable information. Then, eluding the intense surveillance of the enemy, he led his men to lie flat a short distance from the position to be assaulted and remained there for eleven hours waiting for the attack signal. At the appropriate moment, he then moved with great impetus towards the difficult conquest, and upon reaching the exit of a tunnel defended by an enemy machine gun, personally discharged one of his own weapons taken from a fallen comrade against it. Wounded, he refused any assistance, reorganized his men, and resumed fighting with undiminished enthusiasm until he was struck again and killed. Doss Alto di Zures (Riva), August 3, 1918." A monument placed at the spot where he fell and a plaque on the house where he was born still commemorate him.