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Medal, Anniversary of the Battle of Vittorio Veneto 'Magnus ordo' - 1922
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This medal, produced in silver and bronze with a diameter of 44 mm, was designed by the otherwise unknown D. Fabbri and produced in the Workshop of Stefano Johnson in Milan in 1928 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Battle of Vittorio Veneto (24 October to 3 November 1918), a significant event in the late stages of the First World War that resulted in a decisive Italian victory over the Austro-Hungarian army.
The medal’s reverse features two female figures in stolae, traditional Roman dress for women, corresponding to the men’s togas, as well as a portrait of King Victor Emmanuel II. An Italian text explain the occasion: Nel X annuale della Battaglia Vittorio Veneto al Re che guidò l’esercito alla vittoria e debellò il nemico della stripe. XXX ottobre 1928 (‘At the tenth anniversary of the Battle of Vittorio Veneto to the King who led the army to victory and defeated the enemies of the race. 30 October 1928’). The obverse shows Victor Emmanuel III in military uniform in front of an indiscernible crowd of people. The Latin legend is placed at the top of the medal. The phrase is taken from Vergil (Eclogues 4.5) where it is part of the prophecy credited to the Cumaean Sibyl. The quote was used in several contexts and has in the Christian tradition often been interpreted as a prediction of the birth of Christ. It has also been used in other political contexts, most notably in the Seal of the United States with the rewriting Novus ordo seclorum. For its further use during the ventennio, see Lamers and Reitz-Joosse 2016, pp. 25 and 99.
The Battle of Vittorio Veneto took place close to the city of Vittorio Veneto, named after the previous regent Victor Emmanuel II. The battle, which led to the capture of close to 450.000 Austo-Hungarian soldiers, became an important point of pride for Italian nationalists, which is also evident from Latin texts like Carpino's Italia Sabaudia et lictoria fide resurgens ad Caputrectum et Victorium Venetum (1938). Armando Diaz, who led the Italian army in the battle, served as Minister of War in Mussolini’s cabinet from the March on Rome in October 1922 until 30 April 1924. His death earlier in 1928 was widely commemorated, also in Latin. On this medal, however, he is absent to the benefit of the king.
Erlend Myklebust
The medal’s reverse features two female figures in stolae, traditional Roman dress for women, corresponding to the men’s togas, as well as a portrait of King Victor Emmanuel II. An Italian text explain the occasion: Nel X annuale della Battaglia Vittorio Veneto al Re che guidò l’esercito alla vittoria e debellò il nemico della stripe. XXX ottobre 1928 (‘At the tenth anniversary of the Battle of Vittorio Veneto to the King who led the army to victory and defeated the enemies of the race. 30 October 1928’). The obverse shows Victor Emmanuel III in military uniform in front of an indiscernible crowd of people. The Latin legend is placed at the top of the medal. The phrase is taken from Vergil (Eclogues 4.5) where it is part of the prophecy credited to the Cumaean Sibyl. The quote was used in several contexts and has in the Christian tradition often been interpreted as a prediction of the birth of Christ. It has also been used in other political contexts, most notably in the Seal of the United States with the rewriting Novus ordo seclorum. For its further use during the ventennio, see Lamers and Reitz-Joosse 2016, pp. 25 and 99.
The Battle of Vittorio Veneto took place close to the city of Vittorio Veneto, named after the previous regent Victor Emmanuel II. The battle, which led to the capture of close to 450.000 Austo-Hungarian soldiers, became an important point of pride for Italian nationalists, which is also evident from Latin texts like Carpino's Italia Sabaudia et lictoria fide resurgens ad Caputrectum et Victorium Venetum (1938). Armando Diaz, who led the Italian army in the battle, served as Minister of War in Mussolini’s cabinet from the March on Rome in October 1922 until 30 April 1924. His death earlier in 1928 was widely commemorated, also in Latin. On this medal, however, he is absent to the benefit of the king.
Bibliography
Casolari, Gianfranco. 25 anni di storia : medaglie e decorazioni mussoliniane, 1922 - 1945. Tipolito Giusti, 1996. [VI.24]
Lamers, Han, and Bettina Reitz-Joosse. 2016. The Codex Fori Mussolini: A Latin Text of Italian Fascism. London [etc.]: Bloomsbury.
Stabilimento S. Johnson. 1983. 150 anni di medaglie Johnson, 1836-1983. Milan: Cartonato. [185]
Erlend Myklebust
…magnus ab integro saeculorum nascitur ordo
The great order of ages is born anew.