The bronze medal was produced for the Fascist youth organization Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB) in 1928. It was possibly used as a prize medal for a competition organized by the ONB. The medal, which is also found in gold, has a diameter of 39.6 mm.

The medal was designed by the artist and sculptor Federigo Papi (1897-1982) and produced at F. M. Lorioli & Castelli in Milan. The obverse’s design was reused several times during the ventennio, with slightly modified reverses.

The Latin legend of the coin manipulates a quote from Vergil (Verg. Aen. 1.712-14) referring to Dido: praecipue infelix, pesti devota futurae, / expleri mentem nequit ardescitque tuendo / Phoenissa (‘Above all, the unhappy Phoenician, doomed to impending ruin, cannot satiate her soul, but takes fire as she gazes’; transl. by H. Rushton Fairclough, rev. by G. P. Goold). On the medal, the formulation is tweaked to become a positive message, with pesti (‘calamity, misfortune’) changed into sorti (‘lot, fate’). Combined with the images of the athletes, the phrase evokes stoic acceptance of the future, self-confidence, and willingness to action.

Bibliography

Casolari, Gianfranco. 1996. 25 anni di storia: medaglie e decorazioni mussoliniane, 1922 - 1945. Tipolito Giusti. [VI/31]

Erlend Myklebust