Zappatore, 1° Reggimento Fanteria Leggera
Sapper, 1st Light Infantry Regiment
From the Otto Manuscript

Sappers were chosen from amongst the ranks of the carabinieri and this individual's uniform is almost identical to that shown elsewhere for a carabiniere, differing only by the addition of crossed axes badges to each arm. The apron, gauntlets and axe are the tools of his trade. Sappers marched at the head of the column to clear any obstacles in the battalion's way.

The Otto manuscript appears to have been painted in the summer of 1807, possibly by the German artist Carl Wilhelm Kolbe but more probably by an unknown French artist. It contains over a hundred figures, mostly of French subjects but with a small contingent of Italians. The 1st Light is particularly well represented with each of these types represented:

Source

DEMPSEY, G. C. (1994), Napoleon's Soldiers - The Grande Armée of 1807 as Depicted in the Paintings of the Otto Manuscript, Arms & Armour Press, London

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Zappatore, 1° Reggimento Fanteria Leggera Sapper, 1st Light Infantry Regiment From the Otto Manuscript

Source

Zappatore, 1° Reggimento Fanteria Leggera
Sapper, 1st Light Infantry Regiment
From the Otto Manuscript