#giuliocesare

Completed on 14 May 1914, Giulio Cesare was a Conte di Cavour-class dreadnought battleships built for the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy). She saw little service during the First World War, spending most of her time in port, ready to sortie if the Austro-Hungarian battlefleet sought a decisive engagement.

During the inter-war period, she was heavily rebuilt. Her main 305mm guns were re-bored to 320mm, her machinery upgraded and additional armour added. The result was an increase from 23,000 tonnes to 29,000 tonnes. Despite this, the new machinery increased her speed from 21.5 knots to 27 knots.

Early in the Second World War, Giulio Cesare took part in the Battle of Calabria (also known as the Battle of Punta Stilo) during which she was struck by a shell from HMS Warspite. This damaged her funnel and reduced her speed, forcing the Italians to break off the engagement.

She was present at Taranto on the night of 11 November 1940, when the Royal Navy launched an air attack. During the attack, her sister ship Conte di Cavour was sunk, Duilo badly damaged and run-aground and Littorio severely damaged. Giulio Cesare however remained undamaged.

For the remainder of her active duty, she escorted convoys to Africa. From January 1942 she was reduced to a training ship. After the Italian surrender she was interned at Malta, where she stayed until 17 June 1944.

Post war, she was allocated to Russia as part of war reparations and renamed Novorossiysk.

Giulio Cesare, rappresentazione nel fumetto Asterix Secondo Plutarco fu Giulio Cesare in persona a pronunciare per la prima volta la celebre frase “de gustibus non disputandum est” (sui gusti non si discute) mentre era a Milano, ospite nella dimora di Valerio Leone insieme ad alcuni generali romani. Venne servito per pranzo un vassoio di prelibati asparagi al burro che destarono però l’imbarazzo dei presenti, abituati a condire i cibi con l’olio e non certo con il “barbaro e nordico burro”. A quel punto Cesare tagliò corto e pronunciò la famosa frase “de gustibus non disputandum est” per far superare a tutti la spiacevole situazione. Da allora la locuzione, poi ridotta alla semplice forma ristretta “de gustibus”, viene usata per sottolineare come sia tutto tempo perso il discutere sui gusti delle persone in quanto questi sono direttamente legati alla sensibilità propria di ciascun individuo. I gusti sono soggettivi e ognuno ha diritto ad avere i suoi, per quanto strani possano sembrare agli altri. (da "Adagi allegri andanti" di Franco Ciarleglio, Sarnus Editore) .