Giuseppe Avvico was born on 20 August 1910.

He served in the 4^o Stomro CT before taking part in the Spanish Civil War using the nom de guerre ”Nannini”.

At dawn on 14 August 1936, the Italian freighter Nereide entered the port of Melilla, on the Mediterranean coast of Spanish Morocco. This important town had been occupied four weeks earlier by Nationalist forces led by general Franco himself. The vessel’s cargo consisted of 12 CR.32s, which had been embarked in the Italian port of La Spezia a week earlier.
As well as spare parts for the Fiat fighters, the ship had also transported 18 volunteers from the Regia Aeronautica to North Africa, their passports bearing false details. Amongst them were the first 12 Italian fighter pilots to arrive on Spanish territory. They were led by Capitano Vincenzo Dequal (’Paride Limonesi’) of the 1^o Stormo CT and his flight leaders were Tenente Vittor Ugo Ceccherelli (’Vaccarese’), also of the 1^o Stormo CT, Tenente Ernesto Monico (’Preti’) of the 4^o Stormo CT and Sottotenente Giuseppe Cenni (’Vittorio Stella’) of the 1^o Stormo CT. The remaining enlisted pilots were Sergente Maggiore Avvico (’Nannini’) the 4^o Stormo CT, Sergente Maggiore Bruno Castellani (’Ribaudi’) of the 6^o Stormo CT, Sergente Maggiore Sirio Salvadori (’Salvo’) of the 4^o Stormo CT, Sergente Angelo Boetti (’Ilacqua’) of the 1^o Stormo CT, Sergente Adamo Giuglietti (’Guglielmotti’) of the 1^o Stormo CT, Sergente Giovanni Battista Magistrini (’Marietti’) of the 1^o Stormo CT, Sergente Vincenzo Patriarca (’Boccolari’) of the 4^o Stormo CT and Sergente Guido Presel (’Sammartano’) of the 6^o Stormo CT. The groundcrew consisted of just three aircraft riggers and three mechanics.
After being welcomed by Spanish officers and the local Italian Consul, the pilots and groundcrew were immediately enrolled into the Tercio Extranjero with their equivalent ranks.

The CR.32s were assembled at Nador (Melilla) over the course of several days and eventually transferred by air to Tablada (Seville), in southern Spain.
The 12 CR.32s were integrated into the Aviación del Tercio and these, the first fighter unit of this force became the Primera Escuadrilla de Caza de la Aviación del Tercio (1^a Escuadrilla de Caza del Tercio) and was commanded by Capitano Dequal.

The new squadron's initial operations consisted of patrols and single sortie missions as dictated by the particular operational requirements and limited efficiency of its aircraft. The CR.32 pilots struggled at first to have an impact on their Republican counterparts because only two of the dozen Fiat fighters in-theatre boasted compasses following a supply oversight in Italy! Unfamiliarity with Spanish terrain and inadequately detailed maps further compounded the unit’s navigational problems when in the air, and the end result was pilot disorientation culminating in emergency landings and damaged aircraft.

Initially, the CR.32s were assigned defensive duties, patrolling overhead Nationalist forces in Andalusia and protecting them from aerial attack, as well as escorting S.81 bombers. The Italian biplanes also provided air cover for the infantry columns of the African Army that had been transported to Spain in the Ju 52/3ms. These troops were particularly vulnerable to attack from the numerically superior Republican air force in the early weeks of the war as they advanced north, occupying western Extremadura. The African Army’s next target was the Spanish capital, Madrid, which it intended to occupy so as to claim international recognition in favour of a new Nationalist administration.

At dawn on 11 September 1936, the 1^a Escuadrilla de Caza del Tercio took off from Cáceres with the orders to intercept Republican aircraft in the Talavera area.
Here three CR.32 led by Capitano Vincenzo Dequal and with Sergente Maggiore Avvico and Sergente Vincenzo Patriarca intercepted Breguet XIXs escorted by some Nieuport Ni-H.52s. Dequal and Avvico each claimed one Breguet while Sergente Patriarca claimed one of the Nieuports. The Ni-H.52 was flown by British pilot Brian Griffin of the Escuadra Internacional, who was killed. Francisco Portillo Ortega flew the Breguet claimed by Dequal and he escaped back to Republican lines but the observer was killed.

Avvico claimed 1 victory during the Spanish Civil War.

In 1939, Silvio Costigliolo and his friends Marescialli Avvico and Giuseppe Biron, decided to try the Accademia Aeronautica (Officers Academy) and all three were commissioned as Sottotenenti on 9 May 1941.

Avvico was promoted to Tenente on 13 November 1942.

In 1943, he was serving at Bologna aeroport.

Avvico ended the war with 1 biplane victory.

Claims:

Kill no.	Date	Time	Number	Type	Result	Plane type	Serial no.	Locality	Unit
	1936
1	11/09/36	dawn	1	Breguet XIX	Destroyed	Fiat CR.32		Talavera area	1a Escuadrilla de Caza del Tercio

Biplane victories: 1 destroyed.
TOTAL: 1 destroyed.

Sources:
Annuario Ufficiale Delle Forze Armate Del Regno D’Italia Anno 1943. Part III Regia Aeronautica – 1943 Istituto Poligrafico Dello Stato, Roma
Courage Alone - Chris Dunning, 1998 Hikoki Publications, Aldershot, ISBN 1-902109-02-3
Due Volte Asso - Giovanni Massimello, 1997 Storia Militare Nr. 49 Ottobre 1997 kindly provided by Massimo Cappone
Fiat CR.32 Aces of the Spanish Civil War - Alfredo Logoluso, 2010 Osprey Publishing, Oxford, ISBN 978-1-84603-983-6
GORIZIA ed il QUARTO STORMO
Regia Aeronautica: The Italian Air Force 1923-1945 - An Operational History - Chris Dunning, 2009 Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, Surrey, ISBN 978-1-906537-02-9
The Legion Condor - Karl Ries and Hans Ring, 1992 Schiffer Publishing, ISBN 0-88740-339-5
Additional information kindly provided by Alfredo Logoluso.