Danilo Pagliaro

MY STORY

1957 — Origins

Danilo Pagliaro was born in Marina di Ravenna in 1957, the son of Anna Maria D'Este, a teacher, and Euripide Pagliaro, a member of the maritime branch of the Guardia di Finanza (Italy's financial and customs police), where he rose to the rank of Maresciallo Maggiore Aiutante di Battaglia (a senior non-commissioned officer rank).

Following his father's postings, the family first lived in Trieste and later in Venice, where his father became head of the Guardia di Finanza's maritime workshops on the Giudecca. Danilo thus grew up in an environment in which uniforms were part of everyday life.

1976–1978 — Education and the Navy

In 1976, he completed his classical secondary education at the Istituto dei Padri Cavanis in Venice and enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the University of Padua.

From 1977 to 1978, he completed 18 months of military service in the Italian Navy, becoming a sergeant and qualifying as a radio teletype operator (RT). He trained at the TLC School in Chiavari in Morse code, voice communications and teleprinting before serving aboard a minelayer and later a minesweeper.

Danilo Pagliaro speaking at a public event

1979–1992 — Work, Family and Music

After returning to Venice, he worked in a wide variety of jobs over the years, including in hospitality, sales and security, and also worked as a security officer at the Venice Casino. At the same time, he pursued a passion that would play a fundamental role throughout his life: music.

Between 1980 and 1981, he attempted to join the Italian State Police (Polizia di Stato) but was declared physically unfit at his first medical examination because of alleged “varicose veins.”

In 1983, he was accepted into the Guardia di Finanza, but withdrew when he felt that his father's intervention had helped secure his admission: he did not want to build his future on a personal recommendation.

That same year, he married. His son Lorenzo was born in Venice in 1984, followed by his daughter Elena in 1988.

1992 — Starting Again in France

On 23 December 1992, at the age of 35, he left Italy with his family and moved to France.

He started again from scratch, taking on a wide range of jobs in cleaning, agriculture and hospitality, as well as working with a theatre company and performing as a singer.

1994 — The French Foreign Legion

On 30 April 1994, during the Camerone commemorations, he visited the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) in Nîmes and decided to try to enlist in the French Foreign Legion.

On 15 August, he reported to Aubagne but failed the Cooper test by approximately 30 metres. He returned home, trained and tried again.

On 5 December 1994, he passed the selection tests and enlisted in the French Foreign Legion.

Danilo Pagliaro during a diving activity

1994–2018 — The French Foreign Legion

After completing his training at Castelnaudary, he was assigned to the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (1er REC).

During his career, he served in several operational theatres in Europe and Africa and spent periods in Djibouti and Mayotte, where his duties included serving as an instructor at the combat training centre, with a particular focus on diving activities.

During his career, he received several decorations and honours and was promoted to the rank of brigadier-chef (a senior non-commissioned officer rank).

In 2018, after nearly twenty-four years of service, he left active duty and continued to serve in the operational reserve.

Since 2016 — Books, University and New Challenges

In 2016, while still on active duty, he published Mai avere paura. This was followed by La scelta and Vita da legionario.

He also returned to the university studies he had left behind many years earlier. He earned a degree in Literature, followed by a Master 1 and a Master 2, before beginning a PhD research programme in medieval history.

On 1 July 2026, after nine years of study and research, he successfully defended his PhD in medieval history.

With the start of the new academic year, he begins a new PhD, this time in Romance Philology.

Diving has also become a family affair: he personally trained both his children, Lorenzo and Elena, who later gained experience as diving instructors themselves.

The Thread of a Life

Italy and France. Family. Music. Many different jobs. An unsuccessful first attempt to join the Legion, followed by nearly twenty-four years of service. Writing. Returning to university. A PhD. And a new academic challenge.

Different experiences, all connected by the same principle:

Fall, get back up and start again.

It is never too late to start again.

DISCOVER MY BOOKS →

MY BOOKS

My books are first and foremost about people. About love, friendship, relationships between men and women, encounters and separations, respect and tolerance, different cultures, journeys, choices, mistakes and second chances.

Nothing is fictionalised: these are true stories, lived experiences and first-hand accounts, told from inside the Foreign Legion and in the places where they actually happened. Inevitably, some of these stories also involve war and the violence that comes with it, but at the heart of my books are people, feelings, relationships, life-changing choices and the desire to start again.

They tell of real lives, with all their contradictions and vulnerabilities. They tell of what it means to fall, to change direction, to find the courage to get back up and start again, and to keep believing, even when it seems too late.

The Legion is the setting. People are the story.

THIRTY
METRES

The Distance Between Failure and the French Foreign Legion

DANILO PAGLIARO

THIRTY METRES

The Distance Between Failure and the French Foreign Legion

Danilo Pagliaro

At 37, Danilo Pagliaro started again. After failing his first attempt to join the French Foreign Legion, he returned, succeeded, and went on to spend nearly twenty-four years in its ranks.

This is the true story of that extraordinary journey — from Italy to France and into one of the world's most legendary military institutions — told from the inside by a man who lived it. Beyond the uniform are the men themselves: their friendships, relationships, the cultures they bring together, choices, failures and second chances.

A first-hand account based entirely on real events and lived experience — a story of falling, getting back up and finding the courage to begin again.

ENGLISH EDITION IN PREPARATION