Medal of National Gratitude to Mothers and Widows of the Fallen
The medal of national gratitude for mothers and widows of the fallen was an award of the Kingdom of Italy , which after the First World War by decree 1919 by King Victor Emanuel III. was donated. The award could be given to the mothers and widows of fallen Italian soldiers and continued to be issued during the Second World War .
Appearance and wearing style
The round bronze medal with a diameter of 33 mm shows on its obverse two female persons depicted above their dying son and husband, of which the left stands for the widow with folded hands and the right for the mother. The latter hands her child a laurel wreath . The dying man himself is depicted naked with the historical helmet of ancient Rome on. The reverse bears the inscription Il figlio che ti nacqve dal dolore ti rinasce o beata nella gloria e il vivo erore piena di grazia e teco (The son who was born to you in pain will be reborn to you, O blessed one in glory, and he, a hero in life, is with you, gracious one).
The medal is worn on a gray ribbon, in the middle of which the Italian national colors green-white-red are woven, on the upper left chest of the recipient. The same medal is also known in a silver version. It is unclear whether this type is a medal that was awarded to widows and mothers after the First World War or the Second World War, or whether it is an upgrade of the bronze medal for mothers who have lost several sons.
Individual evidence
- ^ Ottfried Neubecker : The Italian order system . In: Uniformen-Markt , ZDB -ID 331317-7 , year 1936, p. 45.