After promotion to rear admiral on 9 November 1936, he was appointed naval commander of the Dodecanese, with headquarters in Rhodes. On 7 March 1938 he was promoted to Vice Admiral and given command of the 1st Cruiser Division, participating in the conquest of Albania in April 1939; in 1940 he became commander of all naval forces in Sardinia, a post he still held at the time of Italy's entry into World War II. In October 1940 he was appointed naval commander of Albania, with headquarters in Durres, commanding naval forces during the Greco-Italian War and the invasion of Yugoslavia. For his organizational skills in the management of Albanian ports, he was formally commended by Benito Mussolini and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Savoy.