Time Period: The Great War, Second World War
The Medal for Mothers and Widows of the Fallen (or Medaglia di Madri e Vedove Dei Caduti in Italian) is an Italian medal instituted on 24 May 1919 (with Royal decree no. 800 of 1919) as a token of national gratitude to Italian mothers who had lost one or more children during the First World War.
Both legitimate and natural mothers who had recognized the fallen son were entitled to the badge, but only if it was indubitable that the soldier had fallen in combat or as a result of injuries sustained in combat. It was granted by the Ministry of War or the Navy, depending on whether the fallen soldier was part of the land or sea army.
The medal was established by the Kingdom of Italy and reconfirmed by the Italian Republic for the Second World War. A similar recognition was established in 1887 for the mothers of the fallen of the Battle of Dogali. The recognition was also extended to the African Campaign, the Spanish Campaign, thje Expedition to Albania, The 1940/43 War, and WW2.
The Medal for Mothers and Widows of the Fallen Design
The medal is circular and could be cast in bronze of the guns taken from the enemy. It was designed by G. Prini and measures 32 mm in diameter.
The obverse shows an allegorical design of a woman offering a laurel wreath to a dying soldier while another woman stands in the background. The reverse is bears the inscription “IL FIGLI / CHE TI NACQVE / DAL DOLORE / TI RINASCE “O BEATA” / NELLA GLORIA / E IL VIVO EROE / “PIENA DI GRAZIA ” / E TECO” (“The son which was born out of you in pain, is reborn to you, o blessed one, full of glory and he lives as a hero. With gratitude“).
There are several variants produced by private industries. Some of these show, under the left arm of the fallen, the name of the model maker “G. PRINI – MOD.” and the name of the manufacturer: Sacchini, S. Johnson or Lorioli and Castelli.
The ribbon is dark grey, with thin green, white, and red stripes in the center and measures 37 mm wide. A ministerial circular dated March 23, 1921 established that each fallen child was represented by an equivalent number of bronze crowns on the ribbon.
