Commemorative Medal of the Libyan Campaigns

Commemorative Medal of the Libyan Campaigns
Commemorative Medal of the Libyan Campaigns
	The obverse (left) and reverse of the medal
Type	Commemorative medal
Awarded for	Service in Libya between 1912 and 1931
Presented by	Kingdom of Italy
Clasps	1912, 1912–13, 1913, Fezzan/913, 1913–14, Fezzan/913–914, 1914, Fezzan/914, 1914-15, 1915, Tripolitania/1915, 1915–16, 1916, 1916–17, 1917, 1917–18, 1918, 1918–19, 1919, 1919–20, 1920, 1920–21, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, Tripolitania 1927–1928, 1928, 1929, Tripolitania 1929-1930, 1930, 1931
Status	Abolished 10 February 2011
Established	19 October 1913
	Ribbon of the medal

The Commemorative Medal of the Libyan Campaigns was a decoration granted by the Kingdom of Italy to personnel who served in military campaigns in Libya after the conclusion of the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912. It was abolished in 2011 after the Italian Republic deemed it obsolete.

History

King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy established the Commemorative Medal of the Libyan Campaigns with a royal decree of 6 September 1913 to commemorate participation in military campaigns in Libya subsequent to the Kingdom of Italy′s acquisition of that colony upon the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912. The decree went into effect on 19 October 1913.^[1]

After deeming the medal obsolete, the Italian Republic abolished it on 10 February 2011.^[2]

Eligibiity

Personnel of the Italian Royal Army (Italian: Regio Esercito), colonial troops of the Italian Empire, and the civilian and military personnel of the Italian Regia Marina ("Royal Navy") who participated in military campaigns in Libya after the end of the Italo-Turkish War in 1912 were eligible for the Commemorative Medal of the Libyan Campaigns.

Appearance

Medal

The medal consisted of a silver disc 32 millimetres (1¼ inches) in diameter bearing on the obverse the face of King Victor Emmanuel III facing right, encircled by the inscription "VITTORIO • EMANUELE • III • RE • D' • ITALIA" (English: VICTOR • EMMANUEL • III • KING • OF • ITALY), with the signature of the engraver, Luigi Giorgi, under the king's neck. On the reverse was the inscription "LIBIA" (English: LIBYA) surrounded by two laurel branches in the form of a crown. Although the medals manufactured by the Rome mint were made of silver, some of the medals made by other companies who obtained the minting contract were made of silvered bronze rather than silver.

The medal was identical to the Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Turkish War 1911–1912 except for the inscription on the reverse.

Ribbon

The ribbon was made up of six blue stripes alternating with five dark red stripes. It was identical to the ribbon of the Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Turkish War 1911–1912.

Clasps

Bronze clasps were authorized for the ribbon to represent the years of the campaigns in which the recipient of the medal served. Thirty-five clasps were authorized, for "1912", "1912–13", "1913", "Fezzan/913", "1913–14", "Fezzan/913–914", "1914", "Fezzan/914", "1914–15", "1915", "Tripolitania/1915", "1915–16", "1916", "1916–17", "1917", "1917–18", "1918", "1918–19", "1919", "1919–20", "1920", "1920–21", "1921", "1922", "1923", "1924", "1925", "1926", "1927 ", "Tripolitania 1927–1928", "1928", "1929", "Tripolitania 1929–1930", "1930", and "1931".^{[citation needed]} In some cases, recipients of the medal, which differed from the Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Turkish War 1911–1912 only in its motto and had an identical ribbon, were authorized to wear clasps commemorating these campaigns with the Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Turkish War 1911–1912.

References

^ Royal Decree Number 1342, Col quale sono autorizzati alcuni personali del R. esercito e della R. marina a fregiarsi della medaglia commemorativa creata col R. decreto 21 novembre 1912, n. 1342, portante però nel verso il motto «Libia» (in Italian) (English: With which some personnel of the Royal Army and the Royal Navy are authorized to bear the commemorative medal created with the Royal Decree of 21 November 1912, n. 1342, however bearing the motto «Libya» on the reverse), of 6 September 1913 in G. U. del Regno n. 231 del 4 ottobre 1913, in vigore dal 19 ottobre (English: Official Journal of the Kingdom Number 231 of 4 October 1913, in force from 19 October 1913).
^ Regolamento recante abrogazione espressa delle norme regolamentari vigenti che hanno esaurito la loro funzione o sono prive di effettivo contenuto normativo o sono comunque obsolete, a norma dell'articolo 17, comma 4-ter, della legge 23 agosto 1988, n. 400 ("Regulation expressly repealing the regulatory provisions in force which have exhausted their function or are devoid of effective regulatory content or are in any case obsolete, pursuant to article 17, paragraph 4-ter, of law 23 August 1988, n. 400") (DPR) (in Italian). 13 December 2010. in G. U. serie generale n. 20 del 26 gennaio 2011, supplemento ordinario n. 18, in vigore dal 10 febbraio 2011 ("Official Journal general series n. 20 of 26 January 2011, ordinary supplement n. 18, in force from 10 February 2011").

[1] Royal Decree Number 1342, Col quale sono autorizzati alcuni personali del R. esercito e della R. marina a fregiarsi della medaglia commemorativa creata col R. decreto 21 novembre 1912, n. 1342, portante però nel verso il motto «Libia» (in Italian) (English: With which some personnel of the Royal Army and the Royal Navy are authorized to bear the commemorative medal created with the Royal Decree of 21 November 1912, n. 1342, however bearing the motto «Libya» on the reverse), of 6 September 1913 in G. U. del Regno n. 231 del 4 ottobre 1913, in vigore dal 19 ottobre (English: Official Journal of the Kingdom Number 231 of 4 October 1913, in force from 19 October 1913).

[2] Regolamento recante abrogazione espressa delle norme regolamentari vigenti che hanno esaurito la loro funzione o sono prive di effettivo contenuto normativo o sono comunque obsolete, a norma dell'articolo 17, comma 4-ter, della legge 23 agosto 1988, n. 400 ("Regulation expressly repealing the regulatory provisions in force which have exhausted their function or are devoid of effective regulatory content or are in any case obsolete, pursuant to article 17, paragraph 4-ter, of law 23 August 1988, n. 400") (DPR) (in Italian). 13 December 2010. in G. U. serie generale n. 20 del 26 gennaio 2011, supplemento ordinario n. 18, in vigore dal 10 febbraio 2011 ("Official Journal general series n. 20 of 26 January 2011, ordinary supplement n. 18, in force from 10 February 2011").

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