Order of the Star of Italy

The Order of the Star of Italy ( Italian Ordine della Stella d'Italia ) is an award of merit of the Italian Republic . The name refers to Stella d'Italia , one of the oldest national and state symbols of Italy . The award is given to Italian citizens and foreigners for special services to Italy's relations with other countries.

history

The Order of the Star of Italy was founded on February 3, 2011 and at the same time replaced the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity founded in 1947. The latter was de facto in the succession of the Colonial Order of the Star of Italy . The Colonial Order was created for special service to the interests of the Italian colonies . After the colonies were lost in World War II , the award was no longer given. Since Italy needed support for its own reconstruction after the war, the provisional head of state of the Italian Republic, Enrico De Nicola , founded the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity ( Italian Stella della solidarietà italiana ) on January 27, 1947 as an award for Italians and foreigners abroad who had made a special contribution to the reconstruction of Italy. In 2011 the order was reorganized and renamed because of the long post-war period and on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy . The focus today is on the cultural, social, scientific and economic relations between Italy and other countries.

Order classes

The order consists of five classes and a special level, the "Great Cross of Honor":

How to wear the order (from left to right) from class 5 to special level

• Large Cross of Honor (special level) - Cavaliere di gran croce d'onore
• Grand Cross - Cavaliere di gran croce
• Grand Officer - Grande ufficiale
• Commander - Commendatore
• Officer - Ufficiale
• Knights - Cavaliers

The awards are given by the President of the Italian Republic on the proposal of the Foreign Minister and after hearing the Council of the Order. The head of the order is the president, the chairman of the council is the foreign minister. The Chief of Protocol of the Foreign Ministry is one of the members of the Order Council .

A total of up to 400 awards were planned for 2012, as well as up to ten Large Crosses of Honor for civilians who lost their lives or were seriously injured in humanitarian missions abroad.

Well-known medal bearers

Well-known medal bearers from the German-speaking area are:

• Horst Seehofer , Bavarian Prime Minister - Grand Cross, June 2, 2013
• Steffen Seibert , Government Spokesman - Grand Cross, June 2, 2013
• Stephan Weil , Lord Mayor of Hanover, Prime Minister of Lower Saxony - Grand Officer, January 12, 2015
• Sandra Maria Gronewald , ZDF presenter - Ritter, June 4, 2019

Web links

Commons : Ordine della Stella d'Italia  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Description of the Order on the website of the Italian President
• Bearer of the order

Individual evidence

1. ^ Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica, February 15, 2012
2. ↑ Entry on quirinale.it
3. ↑ Entry on quirinale.it (the Gundelach suffix refers to Seibert's wife)
4. ↑ Focus Online, January 12, 2015
5. ↑ Article on shots.media, June 5, 2019