The Gold Medal of Military Valour ( it, Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label= Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, af ...

for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The face of the medal displayed the profile of the king, and on its reverse was a flag decoration and the words "for valour" On 14 August 1815, Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia replaced it with the Military Order of Savoy, now known as the Military Order of Italy. Charles Albert of Sardinia revived it on 26 March 1833, and added to it the Silver and Bronze medals. These had, on their faces, the coat of arms of Savoy with laurel branches, the royal crown, and the words "for military valor". On the reverse were two laurel branches enclosing the name of the decorated soldier, and the place and date of the action. With the proclamation of the Republic on 2 June 1946, the coat of arms of the House of Savoy was replaced with the emblem of the Italian Republic. For actions performed by individuals during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the Gold Medal was awarded some 368 times, as well as 37 times to military units, and once to the Unknown Soldier. Only four of the individual awards went to foreigners, one of these being Czar Nicholas II of Russia. The other three were for acts of gallantry in which the recipient was killed in action or died from his injuries (the Frenchmen John O'Byrne and Roland Morillot, and the American Coleman deWitt). The Gold Medal of Military Valor was one of the most parsimoniously awarded medals of World War I, granted less frequently than even the Victoria Cross which was awarded 628 times. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the medal was awarded to soldiers of the Royal Italian Army; after these forces were reorganized following the

Armistice with Italy The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...

in 1943, it was awarded to members of the Allies-supporting Italian Co-Belligerent forces. The Axis-affiliated

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

created another design of the medal, with a Gladius replacing the arms of Savoy, for members of the '' Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano'' from 1943 to 1945. This version of the award was not given recognition by the postwar Italian government. The Gold Medal for Military Valor is still awarded by the Italian state, and it, along with Silver and Bronze medals for Military Valor as well as the War Cross of Military Valour (which can only be awarded in time of war) was established by the Royal Decree of 4 November 1932, in which the purpose of these medals is defined as, "to distinguish and publicly honor the authors of heroic military acts, even ones performed in time of peace, provided that the exploit is closely connected with the purposes for which the Armed Forces are constituted, whatever may be the condition or quality of the author."

Notable recipients

The first recipient was

Domenico Millelire Domenico Millelire, pseudonym of Domenico Leoni, (1761 in La Maddalena – August 14, 1827 in La Maddalena) was an Italian patriot, and officer of '' Regia Marina Sarda'' (Sardinian Royal Navy). He is recognised to have gained the first Gold Meda ...

of the Royal Sardinian Navy on 6 April 1793 and the latest recipient was in 2014 Chief Corporal-Major

Andrea Adorno Andrea Adorno (1980, Catania) is an Italian Army soldier, recipient of the Gold Medal for Military Honour. He is the first Italian officer to receive the medal while still serving in the military. Career Adorno served in the 4th Alpini Para ...

of the

4th Alpini Paratroopers Regiment The 4th Alpini Paratroopers Regiment ( it, 4° Reggimento Alpini Paracadutisti) is a Ranger-type special forces regiment of the Italian Army, specializing in mountain combat. The regiment is one of three regiments of the Army Special Forces Comm ...

for combat operations in

Bala Murghab Bala Murghab (Persian/ ps, بالامرغاب) is a city in the Badghis Province of northwestern Afghanistan, located on the Murghab River. It is the district center for the Bala Murghab District. Bala Murghab is the largest city of Badghis Provin ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

in 2010.

Individuals

* Cesare Airaghi *

Abele Ambrosini Abele Ambrosini ( Cercino, 1915 – Cephalonia, 21 September 1943) was an Italian partisan. Biography Called to arms in 1939, he was sent to Albania and Greece. During the armistice he was situated in Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( ...

* Irma Bandiera * Francesco Baracca * Cesare Battisti * Giuseppe Baudoin *

Emanuele Beraudo di Pralormo Emanuele Beraudo, Conte di Pralormo (13 July 1887 – 11 October 1960) was an Italian horse rider who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics. He was born and died in Pralormo, Torino, Italy.Annibale Bergonzoli *

Edoardo Bianchini Edoardo Bianchini was an Italian captain of the First Italo-Ethiopian War. He commanded the 3rd Mountain Artillery Battery during the Battle of Adwa before being killed at the battle. He was also a posthumous recipient of the Gold Medal of Milit ...

* Carmelo Borg Pisani * Junio Valerio Borghese *

Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia (22 September 1915 – 24 August 1944) was an Italian aviator, and one of the most famous Italian pilots of World War II. Buscaglia was born in Novara, Piedmont, in 1915 and entered the Italian '' Accademia Aeronauti ...

Giuseppe Caimi Giuseppe Caimi (19 December 1890 – 26 December 1917) was an Italian footballer and a soldier in the Royal Italian Army. Caimi spent two seasons with Inter Milan, making 23 league appearances, before he was drafted into the army at the outbre ...

* Nicola Calipari * Inigo Campioni *

Carla Capponi Carla Capponi aka The Little English Girl (7 December 1918 – 24 November 2000) was an Italian partisan and politician who received the Gold Medal of Military Valour for her participation in the Italian resistance movement. Biography Youth ...

* Salvo D'Acquisto * Francesco De Rosa * Furio Niclot Doglio * Luigi Durand de la Penne *

Unatù Endisciau Unatù Endisciau was an Ethiopian soldier who served in the Italian Army during World War II. He was one of only two colonial subjects to be awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor, Italy's highest award for bravery. Unatù served as a Munt ...

, the only native soldier awarded the Gold Medal * Emilio Faà di Bruno *

Carlo Fecia di Cossato Carlo Fecia di Cossato (25 September 1908 – 27 August 1944) was an officer in the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy), in command of submarines and torpedo boats during World War II. He was credited with the confirmed sinking of 23 enemy ships (16 ...

Giovanni Fornasini Giovanni Remo Fornasini (23 February 1915, in Pianaccio – 13 October 1944, in San Martino di Caprara) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest, resistance member and patriot in Bologna. He was murdered by a German Nazi Waffen SS soldier and was po ...

* Giuseppe Galliano (twice awarded) * Joaquín García Morato * Maurizio Giglio * Luigi Giorgi (twice awarded) *

Luigi Gorrini Luigi Gorrini, Gold Medal of Military Valor, MOVM (12 July 1917 – 8 November 2014), was an Italian World War II fighter pilot in the Regia Aeronautica and in the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana. During the conflict, he flew with the ''Corpo ...

* Giuliano Gozi * Amedeo Guillet *

Charles Yorke, 4th Earl of Hardwicke Admiral Charles Philip Yorke, 4th Earl of Hardwicke, PC (2 April 1799 – 17 September 1873) was a British naval commander and Conservative politician. Background Born at Sydney Lodge, in Hamble le Rice, Hardwicke was the eldest son of Admira ...

Filippo Illuminato Filippo Illuminato (21 August 193028 September 1943) was an Italian partisan who died attacking Nazi German troops during the Four days of Naples in World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour, Italy's highest aw ...

* Antonio Locatelli (thrice awarded) * Orlando Lorenzini * Hans-Joachim Marseille * Giulio Martinat *

Paolino Mattina Paolino may refer to: People with the given name *Paolino Veneto (died 1344), Franciscan historian *Paolino Bertaccini (born 1997), Belgian football player *Paolino Taddei (1860-1925), Italian politician People with the surname *Joseph R. Paolino ...

Umberto Masotto Umberto Masotto (1864-1896) was an Italian Captain who served in the First Italo-Ethiopian War. He commanded the 4th Mountain Artillery Battery during the Battle of Adwa but was more famously known for being the first field gunner to receive t ...

* Corrado Mazzoni *

* Tito Minniti *

Roland Morillot Roland Morillot (1885 – 29 December 1915) was a French naval officer and hero of the early age of submarines. He was the brother of painter Octave Morillot. Career Morillot captained the French submarine French submarine Monge (Q67), ''M ...

* Pore Mosulishvili *

Joachim Müncheberg Joachim Müncheberg (31 December 1918 – 23 March 1943) was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot during World War II and an ace credited with 135 air victories. The majority of his victories were claimed over the Western Front, with 33 claims ov ...

* Luigi Arbib Pascucci *

Pietro Pedranzini Pietro Pedranzini was an Italian Lieutenant of the First Italian War of Independence and the Third Italian War of Independence. He was one of the main commanders behind the Operations in Valtellina and received a Gold Medal of Military Valor f ...

* Sandro Pertini * Luigi Reverberi *

Giovanni Romero Giovanni Romero (1841-1896) was an Italian colonel who participated in several conflicts during the 19th century. He participated in the Second Italian War of Independence and the Third Italian War of Independence, most notably leading the 4t ...

* Luigi Rizzo (twice awarded) * Fulco Ruffo di Calabria *

Luigi Antonio Tami is a fictional character featured in video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, compute ...

* Teseo Tesei *

Virginia Tonelli Virginia Tonelli (Castelnovo del Friuli, 13 November 1903 – Trieste, 29 September 1944) was an Italian partisan. She was burned alive by the fascists in the Risiera di San Sabba concentration camp, and was posthumously awarded the Gold Med ...

* Enrico Toti *

Leandro Verì Leandro Verì (San Vito Chietino, 10 November 1903 – Laigueglia, 13 December 1938) was an Italian carabiniere. Biography Born in San Vito Chietino, Chieti, on 10 November 1903, Verì attended the carabiniere student walking course at the ...

Luigi Viviani Luigi Viviani (Verona, 22 October 1937) is an Italian politician and trade unionist, actively involved in various national and local political activities and in the political fabric of Verona. Biography During the 1980s Viviani was a member of ...

Military units

The first military unit awarded a Gold Medal was His Majesty's Dragoons Regiment (''Reggimento Dragoni di Sua Maestà'') on 21 April 1796 for unit's conduct during the Battle of Mondovì. Although at the time the Medal was exclusively awarded for personal bravery, King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia ordered the regiment's standard to be decorated with two medals for saving his army from Napoleon's attack. Until 1859, when the rules for awarding the Gold Medal were expanded to include cities and military units, only the ''"Cuneo"'' Brigade was awarded a Special Gold Medal of Military Valour by King Charles Felix of Sardinia for suppressing the Revolution of 1821. The first unit to be awarded the Gold Medal after 1859 was the French Imperial 3rd Zouaves Regiment for its conduct in the Battle of Palestro. The latest unit awarded the Gold Medal was the Jewish Brigade in 2017 for the brigade's service during the Italian Campaign of

. The following list contains only the military units, which were awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour twice. In total 112 gold medals were awarded to units of the Italian army: 105 to regiments and 7 to battalions. * His Majesty's Dragoons Regiment (1796 Battle of Mondovì, the only cavalry unit to be awarded twice) *

1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" The 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" ( it, 1° Reggimento "Granatieri di Sardegna") is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Rome in Lazio. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Granatieri (''Grenadiers'') speciality and o ...

(1860 Siege of Gaeta, 1917 Tenth Battle of the Isonzo) * 5th Infantry Regiment ''"Aosta"'' (1859 Battle of San Martino, 1917-18 Italian Front) * 6th Infantry Regiment ''"Aosta"'' (1859 Battle of San Martino, 1917-18 Italian Front) * 9th Infantry Regiment ''"Regina"'' (1859 Battle of Palestro, 1915-16 Italian Front) * 10th Infantry Regiment ''"Regina"'' (1860 Battle of Castelfidardo, 1915-16 Italian Front) * 13th Infantry Regiment ''"Pinerolo"'' (1915-18 Italian Front, 1941 Greco-Italian War) * 47th Infantry Regiment ''"Ferrara"'' (1915-17 Italian Front, 1940-41 Greco-Italian War) * 48th Infantry Regiment ''"Ferrara"'' (1915-17 Italian Front, 1940-41 Greco-Italian War) * 80th Infantry Regiment ''"Roma"'' (1941–42, 1942-43 Eastern Front) * 84th Infantry Regiment ''"Venezia"'' (1911 Italo-Turkish War, 1943 Resistance to German forces in Yugoslavia) * 151st Infantry Regiment ''"Sassari"'' (1915–16, 1918 Italian Front) * 152nd Infantry Regiment ''"Sassari"'' (1915–16, 1918 Italian Front) *

3rd Bersaglieri Regiment The 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment ( it, 3° Reggimento Bersaglieri) is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Teulada in Sardinia. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and operationally assigned to the Mecha ...

(1941–42, 1942 Eastern Front; the unit is also the custodian of the medal awarded to the III Bersaglieri Cyclists Battalion in 1915-18 on the Italian Front) *

6th Bersaglieri Regiment The 6th Bersaglieri Regiment ( it, 6° Reggimento Bersaglieri) is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Trapani in Sicily. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and operationally assigned to the Mechanized ...

(1942, 1942-43 Eastern Front) * 8th Bersaglieri Regiment (1941-42 Western Desert Campaign, 1943

Tunisian Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. T ...

) *

5th Alpini Regiment The 5th Alpini Regiment ( it, 5° Reggimento Alpini) is a regiment of the Italian Army's mountain infantry speciality, the Alpini, which distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. The regiment is based in Sterzing and assi ...

(1940-41 Greco-Italian War, 1942-43 Eastern Front) *

8th Alpini Regiment The 8th Alpini Regiment ( it, 8° Reggimento Alpini) is a regiment of the Italian Army's mountain infantry speciality, the Alpini, which distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. As of 2022 the regiment is assigne ...

(1940-41 Greco-Italian War, 1942-43 Eastern Front) *

9th Alpini Regiment The 9th Alpini Regiment ( it, 9° Reggimento Alpini) is a regiment of the Italian Army's mountain infantry speciality, the Alpini, which distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Based in the city of L'Aquila in Abruzzo t ...

(1940-41 Greco-Italian War, 1942-43 Eastern Front) * 3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment (1940-41 Greco-Italian War, 1942-43 Eastern Front, the only artillery unit to be awarded twice) The

4th Alpini Regiment The 4th Alpini Paratroopers Regiment ( it, 4° Reggimento Alpini Paracadutisti) is a Ranger-type special forces regiment of the Italian Army, specializing in mountain combat. The regiment is one of three regiments of the Army Special Forces Comm ...

currently also displays two Gold Medals of Military Valour on its flag, however the two medals were awarded to the regiment's Alpini Battalion ''"Aosta"'', and the Alpini Skiers Battalion ''"Monte Cervino"''.

Locations

The first geographic entity to be awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valour was the city of Vicenza in 1866 for its five days long resistance to Austrian assaults during the First Italian War of Independence. Vicenza is also the only city to be awarded the medal twice: the second time for its participation in the Italian resistance movement during

. The latest city to be awarded was

Varzi Varzi is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 70 km south of Milan and about 40 km south of Pavia. Varzi borders the following municipalities: Bagnaria Bagnaria ( Lomba ...

for the creation and defense of the Partisan Republic of Alto Tortonese between September and December 1944. Examples: * Region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia * Province of Alessandria * Province of Asti * Province of Pordenone * Ascoli Piceno * Bassano del Grappa * Lanciano * Marzabotto *

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

* Modena *

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

for the Four days of Naples in 1943 *

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

* Vicenza A full list of regions, provinces and cities, which were awarded for their bravery can be found at :it:Città decorate al valor militare per la guerra di liberazione.

University of Padua

The University of Padua is the only educational institution which was awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valour. The university received it on 2 November 1945 for its furious resistance to German occupation in 1943-1945.

References