MaestroGiorgio Santelli (25 November 1897 – 8 October 1985) was a fencer and fencing master who was part of the Italian team that won the gold medal in Men's team sabre at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was the largest mid-20th century influence in raising the quality and popularity of fencing in the United States, and creator of one of the best-known fencing equipment manufacturers.[1]
Biography
Born in Budapest, Hungary, but always keeping his Italian citizenship, Giorgio was the son of Italo Santelli, a renowned fencing master from Italy who revolutionized sabre technique and was called the "Father of Modern Sabre Fencing".
Giorgio was an Olympian in 1920, where he won a gold medal in the team sabre.[2][3] He won the Austrian, Hungarian, and Italian sabre championships, and the Austrian and Hungarian foil championships—equivalent to winning the Olympics in two different weapons.
Santelli fought and won a famous duel with Adolfo Cotronei, arising out of an Olympic fencing dispute between his Italian father, Italo, who drove the Hungarian team, and the leader of the Italian team.[4]
Santelli at Salle Santelli in New York City, circa February 1961
In 1934, he established the United States Fencing Equipment Company, renamed in 1955 to George Santelli, Inc. This was one of the most widely known 20th century fencing supply houses in the United States.
Santelli tirelessly and generously promoted fencing in all aspects, including stage choreography on Broadway (in productions of Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Peter Pan and many others) and providing free instruction to high school fencers. Giorgio generously supported fencing masters coming to the United States, giving them a place to teach until they established their own schools, including great maestros such as Csaba Elthes. Santelli made a unique contribution by tearing down the color barrier that existed in what had been a patrician sport, inviting black fencers to his club at a time when fencing had been a segregated activity, and producing Olympians and national champions such as Uriah Jones, Ed Ballinger, and Ed Wright.
^Forrest Evangelista, Nick. "Giorgio Santelli". Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
^Staff. "Giorgio Santelli, 87, Ex-Fencing Coach Of U.S. Olympians", The New York Times, 11 October 1985. Accessed 7 February 2018. "Giorgio Santelli, a former United States Olympic fencing team coach and one of the most respected fencing masters in the world, died Tuesday in Teaneck, N.J. He was 87 years old.... Mr. Santelli, who lived in Leonia, N.J., is survived by his wife, Betty; two daughters, Donatella Czekus of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Andrea of Massachusetts; a son, John, of Englewood, and one grandchild."
