On 13 April 1935 Alpini Battalion "L'Aquila" was formed in Gorizia, drawing its personnel from the "Vicenza" and "Bassano" battalions. The new battalion was considered to be the heir of the World War I Alpini Battalion "Monte Berico", which had consisted of soldiers recruited in Abruzzo. Gabriele D'Annunzio created the battalion's motto "D'Aquila Penne, Ugne di Leonessa", which is a word pun: its literal translation is "Eagle feathers, Lioness claws", but L'Aquila, Penne, Ugne and Leonessa are Abruzzo towns, which were the recruitment basin of the battalion.